State gets poor marks for student spending

Monday, Jan. 16, 2006 | 8:30 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada ranks next to last in spending per public school student, a new report says.

That unenviable ranking was disclosed as a legislative committee voted Thursday to hire a Denver consulting firm to examine what would be needed to adequately finance schools throughout the state. The firm, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates Inc., will study how to distribute money according to the needs of students in various districts.

Nevada's very low ranking in public school spending came in a report in Education Week showing that Nevada in 2003 spent $6,394 per student, compared to a national average of $8,041.

Douglas Thunder, chief of finances for the state Education Department, told the legislative committee Nevada placed 49th in the nation in the report. But he pointed out that Nevada also was the only state to receive a grade of "A" in equity in distributing its money.

The 2005 Legislature approved a resolution calling for a study to determine whether there are adequate funds for students to make progress in the public school system. The Legislative Commission set aside $225,000 to hire a consultant to produce that report.

The resolution noted that students in hundreds of schools were failing to make adequate yearly progress.

Spokesmen for the Augenblick firm told the Legislative Committee on School Financing Adequacy that as part of its study, the company would look at successful schools to see how they operate and how much they spend.

At Thursday's meeting, Thunder explained how the state finances education. About $2.5 billion will be spent this year, with 55 percent coming from local taxes, 40 percent from the state and 5 percent from the federal government.

Thunder said the school budget for 2005 was based on what was spent in 2004 with adjustments for factors such as student growth and inflation.

"There is not enough in most years to fund what is adequate," Thunder said.