Education to get less from state’s general fund

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The public schools and the University and Community College System of Nevada in the coming biennium will receive a smaller share of the state's general fund budget.

Human resources programs, however, will receive a slightly larger allotment when compared to past budget cycles, according to the Nevada Legislative Appropriations Report, which was released Monday.

The report, published by the fiscal analysis division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau after each session of the Legislature, details how and where state money is allocated.

The report highlights significant changes in funding and provides budget summaries for each major area of state government.

The general fund budget -- $3.796 billion -- is 18 percent more than that of the 1999-2000 fiscal year.

The report says, "Significant overall increases in spending were approved in various budgets for the Department of Human Services, pay raises for all state employees and the University and Community College System of Nevada and a 2 percent salary increase for school district personnel in the fiscal year 2002-03."

The report shows that spending on human services, which includes welfare, health, children and programs for the elderly, rose from 24.8 percent of the budget in the past biennium to 27.4 percent during the coming two-year period.

Aid to public education from kindergarten to the 12th grade slipped from 34.7 percent to 33.1 percent of the budget, and the share for the university dropped from 19.3 percent to 18.9 percent.

Total spending for education reached $1.990 billion for the two-year period. Other allocations include: $1 billion for human services; $408.4 million for public safety, or 10.8 percent of the budget; $122.5 million for the constitutional agencies, or 3.2 percent of the budget; and $96.4 million for finance and administration, or 2.5 percent of the spending.

The Legislature eliminated 285 existing jobs, but it added 438 new positions. There will be a total of 16,098 authorized jobs in state government, excluding the University and Community College System of Nevada, during the current fiscal year.

The report documents a "significant increase" -- 121 workers -- for the state Department of Motor Vehicles to maintain window coverage in Las Vegas and Reno field offices and address a backlog in the department. Some of these positions were added during the interim with the approval of the Legislative Interim Finance Committee but became permanent in the new budget.

Total positions approved by the Legislature for operation of state government and the University and Community College System for this fiscal year are 22,026, and 22,067 for the next fiscal year.

The report shows a slight change in tax support for the state. Gaming taxes, which contributed 39.6 percent of the state's budget during the past biennium, dropped to 37.7 percent. Receipts from sales tax will comprise 37.7 percent of the budget, up from 37 percent from the previous biennium.

Both gaming and sales tax collections are expected to each total $1.4 billion during the two-year period.

The insurance premium tax will contribute $314.1 million during this biennium, or 8.4 percent of the general fund revenue. During the past biennium tax receipts totaled 7.9 percent. The business license tax is expected to draw $168.9 million for the budget in the next two years -- 4.5 percent of the total. That's down from the 4.6 percent during the previous biennium.

Total funding for building programs during the coming biennium will reach $293.6 million. Of that, $210.4 million will be culled from the state; the remainder will come from other sources. The University and Community College System of Nevada will receive 62.8 percent of the total; prisons, 19.3 percent; and the Department of Administration, 7.9 percent. The remainder will be spread among the remaining state agencies.