State’s funding of education ranks poorly

Friday, Feb. 18, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

RENO -- A new report ranks Nevada near the worst in the nation in per capita student spending and a state Board of Education subcommittee is recommending that school funding be a top priority for the 2001 Legislature.

"How are we going to improve education if we're not going to fund it?" asked David Sheffield, president of the state board.

Figures compiled by the state Department of Education showed Nevada ranked 45th in the nation spending $848 per resident for elementary and secondary education.

"If you look at the figures, we do a very poor job in comparison to other states in the amount of funds we have available for education and as well as the expenditures per pupil," said Sheffield who is from Elko.

Nevada, according to the report, spends $5,084 per student or 37th in the nation.

This spending priority will be presented to the full education board at its March meeting. Getting more money for the public schools has always topped the list in the past.

Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, who is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he hasn't seen the report but added, "We have spent a lot of money in education."

Arberry, whose committee allocates the state money for the public schools, said "We're not perfect. We don't have unlimited dollars. But education has always come first."

He said it wasn't a fair statement to say the Legislature has not taken care of the public schools. And the Legislature doesn't want to micro-manage the schools, telling them where to spend the money.

"We don't know where the money goes and I don't think the (the school districts) would want us doing that," Arberry said of the possibility of the state taking over the spending.

Gary Waters, a state board member from Las Vegas, said the first priority on new dollars should go to paying for smaller class sizes for the disabled -- both mentally and physically.

Waters noted the state board had imposed the new standards earlier this year to require school districts to reduce the class size for special education students.

"They have gotten short-changed for way too long," Waters said about the handicapped.

He estimated it will cost an additional $4 million to $5 million a year, which he said was "doable."

"We can't leave the districts to hang out and dry without any money," Waters said.

Clark and Washoe school districts earlier told a legislative committee that they supported smaller class sizes for the handicapped, but that the edict of the state board did not provide them with money.

Waters said, "I'm willing to sacrifice anything else," referring to the other requests for higher funding.

The second and third priorities of the subcommittee were teacher enhancements and testing in schools.

The subcommittee also wants to look at teacher wages and to continue money for the newly established professional centers to train teachers.

One issue, Sheffield said was examining paying teachers based on their performance. While not advocating a position, he said all things are open to consideration.

"There needs to be discussion," on this, Sheffield said.

Salaries are based partly on the educational achievement and years of service.