Budget panel pumps another $28.7 million into schools

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 10:41 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- An extra $28.7 million will flow to Nevada schools over the next two years, including state money for the first time for summer school.

A Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee Wednesday approved $1.2 billion in state aid for public schools, but there will not be any money for teachers' pay increases or money to cover the rising cost of group health insurance for them.

"We put a lot of extra money in the schools," Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said. The $28.7 million approved by the subcommittee is in addition to the amount requested by Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The added money comes from revised forecasts by the Economic Forum of the state's expected sales tax revenue over the next two years. In addition, the property tax is expected to yield more money than predicted five months ago.

"Their decisions were good," Larry Spitler, lobbyist for the Clark County School District, said, noting that he is pleased the subcommittee added $1 million a year for summer school, classes between sessions or longer school days.

"This is a good beginning, and in the future we will stress the need to fully fund that," Spitler said.

The decision clears the last major issue for the proposed $3.2 billion biennial budget for the state.

There are still differences between the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on some spending programs, but they were expected to be resolved at a meeting scheduled later today.

The state's share of $1.2 billion is part of a total $2.7 billion that will go to local districts to educate an estimated 300,000 Nevada students. The other money comes from local taxes and federal funds.

"We're certainly disappointed it (the state appropriation) doesn't include anything for group health insurance or for teacher salary increases," Al Bellister, a lobbyist for the Nevada State Education Association, said.

A 1 percent salary increase for teachers would have cost $43 million over the next two years. Teachers will still be able to bargain with districts over pay raises, even though there is no money in the state's share of the budget.

It would have cost $27 million to cover increased premiums in the group health insurance policies for teachers.

The subcommittee decided to use part of the extra $28.7 million it allotted to schools to continue programs that had been cut by Guinn. It earmarked $1 million a year to the school-to-careers program, which had been eliminated under Guinn's budget. In the last two years the program had received $2 million a year.

A $1 million appropriation is going to maintain the early childhood education programs, which received $1.6 million during the current two-year funding period.

The subcommittee rejected Guinn's suggestion that salary savings -- the money not spent on salaries for vacant positions -- be built into the school districts budget. That would have taken $4.5 million from the districts.

"Everybody was holding their breath on this," Spitler said.

The subcommittee also allocated money to cover 3 percent inflation per year on such things as textbooks, library books, instructional supplies and software and 2 percent per year inflation for utilities and transportation.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mary Peterson said she is pleased the subcommittee allocated $4 million for continued development of the statewide automated student record system and $4.3 million for upgrading technology in the schools.

Part of that money, about $2.7 million, will be spent to bring all schools up to a level of one computer per classroom.

The subcommittee allocated $800,000 to the Clark County School District to complete a satellite program to send classroom instruction to rural schools in the county. "This will help tremendously in distance learning," Spitler said.

"They will be able to pull programs (classroom instruction) off the satellite at midnight and use it the next day, once we get it in place and provide ongoing training," he said.

In addition to the $28.7 million the subcommittee approved, the state's schools are entitled to $8 million a year from the estate tax. That money has been allocated for remedial programs for low-achieving students, to set up regional centers to train teachers in instruction in the new curriculum and for developing new and tougher examinations for students.

The subcommittee also allocated an extra $3 million to help school districts that receive a good share of their money from mining, which has slumped with the decline in gold prices.

In another bill, the budget committee agreed to put aside $16 million in bonds to help school districts finance new or refurbished schools. In some districts, classrooms are in poor repair and there's no money to fix the problem because the tax base has eroded.