Las Vegas Sun

November 27, 2009

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Editorial: Ask the candidates about school funds

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.

Once again a national study on education spending has been released and once again Nevada's rank is pitiful. This time the report is from the Census Bureau, which found that Nevada ranks next-to-last in the nation when comparing the amount of money spent on elementary and secondary students for every $1,000 earned in the states and Washington, D.C. Earlier reports have noted that Nevada's per-pupil spending is $1,000 less than the national average. Meanwhile, over the past three years the Clark County School District has been forced to cut $80 million from its budget to compensate for inadequate state funding.

Soon candidates for the Legislature will be knocking on your door and asking for your vote. This will be the time to ask where they stand on education funding. The state Education Department says spending needs to be increased by $876 million. The state's school superintendents say $905 million. Those amounts may be unrealistic, but how many more reminders do we need before acknowledging that we're shortchanging our schools? What do the candidates say? Best to ask now, before the election.

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