NSEA Public Comment: Member Testimony, Senate Education

This session, we’ve been asking you to listen to educators, so I’m reading public comment from Elizabeth Cadigan, a music teacher in the Washoe County School District. She writes...

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of visiting the Legislative Building and speaking with policymakers about the concerns my colleagues and I have about SB543. One of these concerns included the dismantling of Zoom and Victory schools across our state. As an educator within a Zoom school, I see firsthand the impact this program has not only on my students but also the surrounding community. When I brought this up with the policymakers I met, I was told that the new weighted formula within SB543 will account for these students’ needs as well as the needs of other students across the state. In comparing the funding my students will receive under the new weighted formula to the amount of funding that is currently allocated for our school through the Zoom program, the numbers do not balance. Therefore, I am led to believe that when the initiation of SB543 officially takes place this summer, the services and resources my students and their families rely upon will be reduced.

It is devastating to think that in order for SB543 to work, we must take from one group of students to give to another. I realize that this is due to the fact that SB543 does not address how our state can secure additional funding for education. Instead, SB543 takes the dismal per pupil funding we currently allot and redistributes it in a new way amongst our vastly growing student population.

To allow SB543 to take place without addressing the need for additional revenue is a disservice to our students and the future of our state. I ask that adjustments to SB543 are made to allow for a continuation of funding for Zoom and Victory programs in addition to providing funding for the weighted formulas. This will ensure that all students, regardless of which school they attend, will receive the adequate funding and support they need to succeed. I also ask that new revenue streams for education (such as AJR1) are passed so that we can properly fund Nevada’s education system and provide our students with the resources and support they need to succeed.

Thank you.