Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

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Democrats place priority on schools

Bipartisan agreement is often hard to achieve. But Republicans and Democrats across Nevada agree that our state’s education system is broken. For too long, we’ve approached funding education as if we were stuck in the 1950s rather than addressing the current needs of our students and preparing for Nevada’s future. Indeed, as Gov. Brian Sandoval noted in his state of the state speech, many of our educational policies and the way we fund them are based in the last century. The results have been ugly: Our classrooms are overcrowded, our teachers lack the resources necessary to educate our students and our children are woefully unprepared to face the 21st century.

Meeting this challenge is no small task. We are optimistic, however, that the time is right for Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature to work together with the governor to solve it. As he begins his fifth year in office, we are pleased the governor has embraced many ideas that Democrats have worked to achieve for years.

In this year’s State of the State address, the governor mentioned that full-day kindergarten, universal pre-K, school construction and breakfast in schools are some of his 2015 education priorities. Notably, all of these priorities have been bedrock principles for Nevada Democrats for years. Democratic leaders such as Sens. Joyce Woodhouse and Debbie Smith, along with Assemblyman Elliot Anderson and Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz, have introduced numerous bills over the past decade to deal with all of these issues and more. Unfortunately, they have faced obstacles from radical Republicans when it came to getting their bills passed.

We are optimistic that we will see the education policies we have been fighting for become a reality now that the governor has joined us at the table. We are hopeful that the legislators across the aisle also will join in our effort to improve the lives and future economic prospects of Nevada’s children.

As Sandoval mentioned in his address, building a new Nevada will require new revenue. How we generate that revenue must be built on three basic principles: fairness, sustainability and stability for years to come. If we fail to adhere to those principles, we will shortly find ourselves back in the same situation we face now. Such a result is simply unacceptable.

We also must ensure that those who suffered most during the Great Recession will not be punished again as we transition into a 21st-century Nevada. As Democratic leaders, we will not stand for balancing our state budget on the backs of small businesses and everyday Nevadans.

The 2015 legislative session begins Feb. 2, and Democrats will be at the table ready to work. We look forward to honest conversations, fair hearings and, in the end, floor votes on these ideas that address the needs of Nevadans. If we come together now to make the tough choices, our children’s future is undeniably bright.

Marilyn Kirkpatrick is the Democratic leader of the Nevada Assembly. Aaron Ford is the Democratic leader of the state Senate.

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