A look at Nevada's education funding

Nevada is one of only three states that don't account for students who are impoverished or learning English for the first time in the way they distribute education funding. Instead, districts that are more sparsely populated get an advantage when it comes to divvying up state education dollars. Southern Nevada lawmakers are aiming to change that this session.

Below is a look at how much state funding each county receives per pupil under current law, compared with how much each county would receive if the funding formula were changed to account for those students who are impoverished or learning English for the first time — students who are traditionally more expensive to educate. Although no formal proposal is yet being considered, lawmakers conducted an interim study last year that presented several options for changing the funding formula. The figures in this map are based on changing the formula to weight for students below poverty and English language learners, among other regional changes. If lawmakers adopted this scenario, Clark County would receive an additional $321 per student.

Map shaded by current funding:

Map shaded by proposed funding:

Side-by-side comparison:

Source: Study of a New Method of Funding for Public Schools in Nevada.

Maps and chart produced by Kyle B. Hansen. Reporting by Andrew Doughman.