58 percent hike proposed for state education budget

Monday, July 29, 2002 | 8:22 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A proposed $2.4 billion education budget that calls for pay raises, bonuses and expanded training for teachers, and enlarged kindergarten and summer school programs is on its way to Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The spending proposal for 2003-2005 is $899.5 million over the present biennium or a 58.8 percent increase that was approved by the state Board of Education Friday.

Board President David Sheffield of Elko said its aim is to narrow the gap between Nevada's spending per pupil and the national average. Depending on which study one believes, Sheffield said, the national average is $400 to $1,200 higher per pupil than Nevada.

Nevada's total general fund budget for this biennium is $3.7 billion. But education officials are looking at a governor's task force to propose a major increase in taxes to the 2003 Legislature.

Guinn and the 2003 Legislature will have to decide if they want to raise taxes to finance all or part of the education projects.

The proposed budget carries enough money to take care of an enrollment growth of 4.8 percent next year and 4.5 percent the following year, plus money to cover increased utility costs and higher insurance premiums for school employees.

The governor and the Legislature in 2001 promised schoolteachers a 2 percent raise starting in July next year because they did not get an increase from the state this year. The state board is recommending a 5 percent raise on top of the 2 percent and then a 3 percent increase in July 2004.

The spending proposal would continue a $2,000 signing bonus for new teachers, and the average pay of new teachers would be raised by $3,000, to $32,049 next fiscal year.

Teachers would receive two extra paid days for professional development or training.

Al Bellister, an official of the Nevada State Education Association, called the proposal a "step in the right direction." He said it recognizes the plight of teachers and it would help reduce the gap in per-pupil spending between Nevada and the rest of the country.

Not included in the budget is a proposal for reducing all primary class sizes to 15 students to one teacher. Currently, the student-teacher ratio in grades one and two is 16-1, and 19-1 in third grade. The cost of that plan will be added later by financial experts at the state Department of Education before it is submitted to Guinn.

The board's plan calls for a phase-in of full-day kindergarten with a student-teacher ratio of 16-1. The present ratio statewide is 22.8 students to 1 teacher. The proposal calls for the start of this expanded program in fiscal year 2005 and the state would provide 30 percent of the funding. By 2007 the state would provide the full funding, estimated at more than $173.7 million in a two-year period.

The board wants the state to spend more on programs for limited English proficient students. It is recommending allocating an additional $400 per student in this category to the districts.

It is recommending spending an additional $9 million over the next two years for pre-school programs; $5.8 million for expanded summer and intersession programs and $143 million to restore programs that were eliminated or cut by school districts because of a lack of money.