Editorial: Can’t deny education any longer

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 | 8:45 a.m.

The 2003 Legislature should be prepared to approve an extraordinary leap in the state's budget for elementary and secondary education. Nothing in the normal range of 10 to 15 percent should be considered. We have seen what "normal" increases during the past decade of growth have wrought -- a ranking of 40th in the country in per-pupil spending. The state Board of Education has proposed a budget of $2.4 billion, an increase of almost 59 percent. This would be $899.5 million more than was provided by the 2001 Legislature for the current biennium. The time has come for an increase of that magnitude.

The Clark County School District has been growing around 7 percent a year and, with 245,000 students, is now the sixth largest district in the country. It has been growing rapidly for the past 15 years but no Legislature to date has been willing to adjust state funding accordingly. That's why we find ourselves needing a sudden and sharp increase. The local school district's growth projections have been accurate and there is no reason to doubt its projection that enrollment will exceed 350,000 by the 2008-2009 school year. The time to act is now. First, we need to catch up, and then we need appropriate increases each legislative session, to avoid ever again needing another 50 percent-plus shocker.

The district is nearing the middle of a project to build 88 new schools and still classrooms are overcrowded. With Hispanic students totaling 32 percent of its enrollment, the English Language Learners program needs to double in size. Utilities, transportation, employee health benefits, safety measures, special education, insurance -- all costs are going up. Even with more than $12 million in program cuts to an already no-frills educational offering, the district is projected to end 2003 with a $10 million deficit. We can add to all of this the local costs that will be associated with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, costs that will mount as the program to increase achievement and safety in the nation's public schools expands over the next several years.

Clearly, the state Board of Education is not too far off in its request. We trust that the governor's task force on taxes, scheduled to release its recommendations later this year, will suggest ways in which the money can be raised.