NSEA Public Comment: NDE Program Budget Closings

Yesterday, 40 educators came to Carson City from across the state to talk to legislators about issues with the new school funding plan and the need for new revenue for public education. Thank you to all the legislators who met with educators and participated in our Red for Revenue rally.

While NSEA has been critical of the new funding plan passed in SB543 in the 2019 session, let’s not forget we also expressed significant concern with shortcomings of the Nevada Plan over the years. The Nevada Plan has been driven more by previous education funding and available revenue. This is certainly part of the reason Nevada ranks  48^th in the nation in per-pupil funding. In 2008, NSEA sponsored and passed advisory measures in Clark and Washoe to raise the room tax to supplement education funding, with the legislature passing IP1 in 2009. Unfortunately, these funds were never used as intended, and when finally programmed in the DSA, likely supplanted general fund dollars that otherwise would have gone to education—another weakness of the Nevada Plan. The financial mechanism included in the new funding plan is a step forward to ensure the issue of supplanting education funding does not happen in the future. (And for those keeping track, yes, I just said something positive about the new funding plan.) The Nevada Plan was not built to keep up with Nevada’s changing demographics and developing education needs. However, the development of vital categorical programs over the last decade, with NSEA’s support, was an important step toward addressing these needs.

I think you all now know NSEA has called for a fix to SB543 in three simple steps. 1) Grandfather existing Zoom and Victory Schools. 2) Ensure hold harmless provisions actually do no harm to school districts. And 3) Eliminate anti-union ending fund balance provisions. But even if this legislature listens to educators and fixes the issues we’ve identified, the funding formula alone won’t fix our problems in public education. In addition to chronic underfunding, there is the issue of accountability discussed this morning, especially in a system with seemingly endless unmet need. As the legislature considers converting important categorical expenditures to the State Education Funding Account, NSEA would ask legislators to consider the line of accountability between the state and schools districts and the blurred and weakened incentive for districts to deliver on these important priorities.