Education funding in Nevada is broken. We need to fix 543 to improve schools for every Nevada student.
With the two meetings of the Nevada Education Funding Commission having been held, our work has begun! We need to make sure they continue to hear our voice. SB543, amending Nevada’s education funding formula, was introduced late in the legislative session, only had one public hearing, and was passed into law over the objections of Nevada educators and numerous other education stakeholders.
From the very beginning, we were clear that Nevada’s school funding formula needed to be updated to reflect the changing needs of Nevada students. However, SB543 will have a harmful impact on most school districts, Zoom and Victory schools, and educator unions. SB543 changes the school funding formula without adding new dollars except for administration costs. This only creates new winners and losers, rather than improving education for every student.
Here is a list of concerns that went left unaddressed due to the flawed legislative process:
1. No new school funding to help make the plan work successfully.
2. A freeze and squeeze of most school districts.
3. Successful Zoom & Victory schools will be compromised.
4. A multi-million dollar giveaway to unaccountable charter schools.
5. Anti-Union end fund balance provisions (16.6%).
6. No current educator voice on the commission on school funding.
For reference, here is the NSEA position paper along with amendments that were proposed.
Our work continues. As we did with the Legislature, please write to the Commission members and urge them to address the above issues and make the proper recommendations to protect our educators, our kids, and our schools.
