Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION

In 2003, after Gov. Kenny Guinn sued the Legislature to complete its work on the biennial budget, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that funding education was so important, it wouldn't have to meet the state's constitutional requirement that taxes be approved by a two-thirds majority vote.

"We were virtually within days of the schools not opening," State Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, recalls. "If you were up there (in Carson City), like the Supreme Court justices were, you could feel the tension."

At the time of the legislative logjam, Carlos Garcia, Clark County's schools superintendent at the time, ordered a hiring freeze on new teachers and warned campuses might not be able to open on schedule. Some Republican lawmakers derided the move as a political scare tactic.

In spite of the court's ruling, the 2003 Legislature finally approved education funding with a two-thirds majority.

"In the Democratic caucus, we never thought we would walk out of there with less," Schneider said.

Earlier this week, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed its 2003 decision.

Joyce Haldeman, executive director of community and government relations for the Clark County School District, remembers being "greatly relieved" when the budget finally passed with the two-thirds majority.

"At the time of the (Supreme Court's) ruling, it wasn't a cause for celebration," Haldeman said. "It doesn't help anyone to get funding under a cloud like that."

And the reversal of the court's ruling has no bearing on the district going into the new session, Haldeman said.

"There's never been a moment when we've thought, 'We don't need a two-thirds vote, we have a precedent,' " Haldeman said. "There's no doubt the ruling got the lawmakers' attention and got them busy, but it didn't have an impact on how we do business."

When the 2007 Legislature gets under way in February, Senate Bill 2 will ask that Nevada raise its funding of K-12 education to the national average.

It will be the third consecutive session that Schneider's bill is the second piece of legislation from the Senate side.

"It's almost embarrassing that I have to put in a bill that says we want to be mediocre," Schneider said.

Despite steady annual increases, Nevada regularly ranks near the bottom nationally when it comes to per-pupil funding and lags about $1,500 behind the national average. For the 2007 fiscal year, the Legislature guaranteed $4,696 for every student.

In August, a consultant hired by the Legislature to evaluate the adequacy of the state's education funding, suggested Nevada's public education spending be increased by almost $1.3 billion more annually.

The figure flummoxed some legislators and educators, as the report came with minimal specific recommendations for where the dollars should be directed. The report also did not take into account the soaring enrollment growth in Southern Nevada, which is projected to continue at least through 2014. That suggests that even $1.3 billion would not be enough under the consultant's plan.

Schneider said when he first proposed raising per-pupil spending to the national average, the price tag was about $1.3 billion. The cost has only increased as other states pour more money into their schools.

"We keep falling further behind the national average, we don't even hold our ground," Schneider said.

Campaigning to get the Clark County School District to name an elementary school after you reached new heights this week. The well-organized blitz by supporters of retired administrator Carolyn Reedom was apparently successful - she was chosen as namesake for an elementary school less than six months after being submitted as a nominee.

Friends, family, former students and colleagues showed up bearing 8-by-10 glossy glamour shots of Reedom, and stood in unison to recite a rhyming poem written by Reedom's daughter.

During a brief recess in the meeting, the reactions of some of the audience members - who had fewer bells and whistles on behalf of other nominees - ranged from dismay to amusement.

"Is she running for a school name or homecoming queen?" wondered one woman.

Rebate checks totaling $561,000 went out to 234 schools this week, rewards for cutting energy bills by at least 10 percent. The schools did it by disconnecting vending-machine lighting, shutting down computers and copiers at day's end and by not air-conditioning or heating empty classrooms.

Schools received individual rebates ranging from $1,500 to $5,000. Cartwright Elementary School posted the steepest dip in its energy costs, with a 36 percent reduction.

The district determined it avoided $7.6 million in energy costs between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, an increase of $1.5 million over the prior year's savings.

The district added 11 new schools last year, including Arbor View High School, built using a design that needs less power than other campuses of similar size. The new Legacy High School and replacement Rancho High School campuses, both of which opened in August, are built using the same two-story, energy-conscious mall design as Arbor View.

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