NSEA Launches Ads to Boost Time For 20 Campaign

(Carson City, NV) The Nevada State Education Association launched three new video spots as a part of a six-figure ad buy in support of the Time for 20 campaign. Amidst record educator vacancies and the largest class sizes in the country, Time for 20 calls for a 20% educator raise, $20/hour for those who make schools run, and average class sizes of 20 students.

The video spots were filmed at Eagle Valley Middle School in Carson City, featuring teachers from Washoe County and Carson City and students from award-winning Youth Theatre Carson City.

Christina Bourne is a music educator at Mark Twain Elementary School in Carson City.

“To ensure our students have the best chance to compete, they need class sizes of no more than 20 students. Reducing class sizes and providing each student with access to a highly qualified educator can't happen if we do not also focus on recruiting and retaining educators. Nevada has the opportunity right now to invest in our children and in the future of our communities. It is Time for 20!”

Jennifer Malaterre is a math teacher at Dilworth Middle School in Sparks.

“Time for 20 is the change that educators and students need to get out of this drowning crisis! Teachers must receive a minimum of a 20% increase in our salaries, simply to catch up with the rest of the nation. With my master’s degree, I still only make $50,000 a year!”

Brent Busboom is an English teacher at Reno High School.

“I’ve seen too many students sitting in classrooms without a qualified teacher and too many great educators leave our schools, because they can’t afford to stay in the profession. It’s Time for 20 so we can start to address these problems.”

Michele Erikson is a special education teacher at Spanish Springs Elementary in Sparks.

“The building blocks of education are crumbling. If we don’t support them, we will be paying the price in a few years. Let’s go all in on education. It’s Time for 20!”

Background

Since the pandemic, low pay and morale resulted in record numbers of educator departures. Already overcrowded classrooms were doubled and tripled up. Bus routes were canceled, stranding students for hours. With thousands of vacancies across the state, educators called out for help. A year ago, NSEA launched Time for 20, calling for smaller class sizes and significant increases in educator pay. At the same time, Nevada has seen large increases in revenue and record surpluses. In his recommended budget, Governor Lombardo proposed increasing the state’s Rainy Day Fund to $1.6B and the Education Stabilization Fund to $733M. While the Governor also recommends increasing education funding by $1B/year, since FY20, per-pupil funding has remained relatively flat and inflation has skyrocketed, increasing more than 16%. Most of the proposed increase for schools will simply go to covering increased costs, not to supplement or improve education.