Watching the Funding Commission from home, as teachers have transitioned to distance learning and food service workers continue their front-line work of feeding district families, is quite surreal.
Educators across our State are working hard to adapt to their new and unique situation given the COVID-19 pandemic. We are disappointed to see the Commission did not adapt similarly for a topic that directly impacts them.
While Governor Sisolak made the right call to protect Nevadan's safety, the financial impacts of this required response to the global COVID-19 pandemic are and will continue to be severe and undeniable.
Last week, the Governor asked all state departments for recommended cuts of 4% in the current fiscal year and 6-14% in FY21. Not even accounting for loss of local revenue, these general fund cuts alone could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for Nevada schools. Nobody yet knows what a return to school could look like, but Nevadans understand that sending students back to overcrowded classrooms doesn’t work with our new practice of social distancing.
The impact of the current crisis on Nevada schools eclipses anything else that has happened in recent memory. Yet today, the Commission is wrangling with details like administrative caps, small school adjustments, and regional cost differences, that more likely than not, have been turned on their heads in just the last 4 weeks. But for the video format, anyone watching today’s meeting would have no idea Nevada is facing economic uncertainty and upheaval.
The details being discussed by the Commission today may have been of great importance a couple months ago. However, everything now has changed. That is not hyperbole. Now is the time to address the big picture and take leadership on this crucial issue. Moving forward with old timelines and deliverables, as if nothing has changed is irresponsible and only serves to harm Nevada educators and students. It’s time for the Funding Commission to study current economic impacts on our schools, report these findings, and recommend a delay in the implementation in 543. Thank you.
