Today you will hear a presentation on Education Funding Topics and Recommendations from representatives of the Commission on School Funding and the Nevada Department of Education.
Since the introduction of SB543 in 2019, NSEA has expressed numerous policy concerns with the new funding formula, especially the fact it contained no new revenue. In lieu of new funding, SB543 created the Commission on School Funding charged with recommending funding targets and identifying revenues to fully fund the associated cost. Over the past 3 years, the Commission has worked to identify the funding shortfall in Nevada schools.
To reach “optimal” funding, based on the recommendations of subject matter experts, Nevada would need to increase its per-pupil spending by more than $5000 today.
Reaching this goal with a phased approach would require an additional annual appropriation of $3.2B by 2032. This approach would include an annualized $256M increase in 2023 and $269M in 2024 or $781M during the next biennium.
In April of 2021, the Commission published their Preliminary Recommendations. NSEA largely agreed with these recommendations and pointed out that it was incumbent on legislators to implement the plan you set in motion with the passage of the new funding formula. Later in the session, while some new revenue was passed, it did not significantly move the needle towards optimal funding. Instead, it prevented Nevada from falling further behind.
As we head toward the release of the Governor’s proposed budget and the 2023 Legislative Session, it will become clear whether the work of the last 3 years was productive, or another sideshow ordered by those looking to deflect responsibility and kick the can further down the road.
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