NSEA Public Comment: Budget Subcommittees on K-12

In our history, there have been few more challenging times than the one we find ourselves in right now with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While NSEA is optimistic about the availability of $775M in CRRSA and ARP funds to be made available in these budget amendments, we are concerned about the lack of educator voice in the development of programming for these significant dollars. Meanwhile, NSEA implores the legislature to continue the work to address structural state underfunding of public education.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, NSEA has consistently raised concerns that districts lack the resources needed to safely operate school buildings during this pandemic. Educators have also long expressed concerns about education inequities and the lack of social and emotional supports for students, both before and especially during this pandemic. Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds will provide critical financial relief for school districts to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and to safely operate school buildings over the next two years.

NSEA applauds the leadership of the Biden administration and Congressional leadership for making the latest round of funds available through the American Rescue Plan. We also want to acknowledge the work of Nevada’s congressional delegation along with our parent, the National Education Association. Leading up to the passage of the ARP, NEA members wrote hundreds of thousands of messages and placed thousands of calls to their representatives advocating for Congress to pass this package containing the single largest investments ever in education funding.

While the NEA and NSEA played a central role in the passage of federal funds, we are concerned about the lack of educator voice in the development of programming for these funds in Nevada.

This lack of engagement with front-line educators is concerning to NSEA. This morning’s hearing was our first opportunity to hear NDE’s proposed uses of funding, and we still haven’t seen any detailed budget documents. This makes it nearly impossible to provide thoughtful input. For example, one of the allowable uses of ARP funds is the protection of education-related jobs. This is a use where we would appreciate the opportunity for constructive input on proposed allocations.

Also, we know these federal funds will only serve as a temporary patch for Nevada’s chronically underfunded schools, expiring in 2023.

Before the pandemic, Nevada ranked near the bottom of states in most education metrics. In the 2020 Quality Counts report from Education Week, Nevada ranked 47th in School Finance and 50th in their overall “Chance for Success” index. And we all know Nevada has the largest class sizes in the county, as the legislature must deliberate a proposal to cut $156M from class size reduction in the next biennium.