Nevada is next to last in school spending

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, May 23, 2002 | 11:18 a.m.

Nevada finished second to last in the nation in a federal report released today on education spending, a showing some Clark County educators and lawmakers called as shameful as it was unsurprising.

For every $1,000 earned by Nevadans in 2000, the state spent just $33.28 on elementary and secondary school education, according to a report by the Census Bureau.

In a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, only Florida finished behind Nevada, with $32.29 of every $1,000 of personal income going toward education. The national average was $48.05.

Clark County School Superintendent Carlos Garcia said for the past two years he has fought against being labeled "Chicken Little" for his dismal assessments of Nevada's education spending. The new census findings are a bitter vindication, Garcia said Wednesday.

"Maybe now people will understand why we're forced to make the cuts we're making, and maybe now people will see that we are grossly underfunded," he said. "If we want quality education programs, we need to start paying for them. It's as simple as that."

The report comes as school officials and state leaders are trying to address a "crisis" in education funding. School districts have been forced to cut budgets as state funding has fallen short.

Last week the Clark County School Board voted to approve $12.6 million in budget cuts, including plans to increase class size in the third grade. The Clark County School District has had to trim nearly $80 million off its more than $1 billion operating budget in the last three years alone, Garcia said.

The census report also ranked Nevada 38th in the nation for per-pupil spending at $6,906 -- more than $1,000 less than the national average of $7,981. Clark County schools get about $150 less per pupil than the rest of the state's districts, Garcia said.

"We've done nothing to stop our fall to the bottom of this and every other list, and that's shameful," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, a Clark County special education teacher. "Where is our commitment to our children?"

Southern Nevada's population explosion -- up 85 percent between 1990 and 2000 -- has sent the Clark County School District's enrollment soaring. But the state Legislature's increases in education spending have been minimal and have not kept pace with the growth, Giunchigliani said.

"Every year, our schools have to do more with less, and every year we get bogged down in the blame game and finger-pointing," she said. "We're never going to get anywhere unless we figure out how to go forward as one voice."

The superintendents of Nevada's 17 school districts are already moving forward on their one-voice approach. At a meeting last week of Gov. Kenny Guinn's Tax Task Force, the superintendents asked for an extra $904 million in public school spending over the next two years.

The state Board of Education made a pitch of its own to Guinn, asking for $851 million over two years for school improvements.

"We certainly have the capability to do far better than we are," said Doug Thunder, deputy superintendent for state education department's administrative and fiscal services.

Because many wealthy people relocate to Nevada in order to benefit from the state's tax advantages, the census report's statistics for personal income may be somewhat skewed, Thunder said.

Giunchigliani agreed but added that having high-income residents should mean more money is spent on each student, not less.

"Those same people who enjoy the benefits of living here don't give back to the community when it counts," she said. "That must change."