Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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Based strictly on the size their paychecks, public school teachers in Nevada are doing pretty well compared with their colleagues nationwide. The average teacher salary is in the mid-$50,000 range here, which puts Nevada near the middle of the pack.
But throw in the number of students being taught by each of those educators, and the picture changes drastically. In fact, due to outlandishly large class sizes, Nevada ranks third from the bottom in terms of teachers’ salaries on a per-student basis.
That was one of several key points made by Las Vegas economic analyst Jeremy Aguero in a presentation last week at the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Preview event, and it helps illustrate why Nevada lawmakers should support Gov. Steve Sisolak’s efforts to boost funding to the state’s K-12 system.
Sisolak has pledged to boost teacher compensation and work to reduce class sizes, both of which are critical steps in improving Nevada schools.
Doing it won’t be cheap, but it’s an investment that Nevada can’t afford not to make. Our public schools have struggled for far too long amid underfunding, which not only is hurting our children but is holding back our economy by deterring good businesses from locating here or expanding into Nevada. Strong businesses look for areas where schools are producing high-quality job candidates and can provide a top-level education for their employees, and Nevada struggles mightily in those respects.
With the 2019 legislative session scheduled to get underway next week, lawmakers are in prime position to improve the situation for both teachers and students. State tax revenues are strong, the economy is clicking along and, thanks to the wisdom of Nevada voters, there’s no shortage of public education supporters in the ranks of state lawmakers.
Naturally, Sisolak’s plan for K-12 has budget hawks and foes of public education in hysterics. Listening to them, you’d be convinced Sisolak is bent on driving up taxes and plunging the state into some economic ring of hell.
That’s utter nonsense. Sisolak’s budget proposal calls for no new taxes, but rather an extension of two taxes — the state’s modified business tax and the governmental services tax — that were set to be reduced or eliminated, respectively, on June 30 at the end of the fiscal year. By keeping both in place, the state will generate an estimated $69 million per year.
And as far as the effect of additional school funding on the economy, ask economic development officials about that. States with high-ranking K-12 systems are at a significant advantage over Nevada in pitching themselves to companies that are looking to relocate or expand.
So K-12 funding is money well spent, and not just because it will make Nevada more attractive to outsiders.
It’s also the right thing to do for teachers and students in overcrowded classes.
In the most recent national study of class sizes, released last year by the National Education Association, Nevada had the largest student-to-teacher ratio for the second consecutive year, with teachers on average responsible for educating 25.86 students. Some classes are twice that large, and class sizes of 30-plus are not unusual whatsoever in the Clark County School District.
Think about what that’s like for a teacher trying to educate that many young people, or for a student trying to get one-on-one time with his or her instructor.
During the recent Los Angeles teachers strike, a high school English teacher there made a case for reducing class sizes that surely even a number-crunching budget hardliner would understand.
In an interview with NPR, the teacher described what it would take to devote just 15 minutes to critiquing each of his 38 students’ essays.
“That’s nine hours, not counting going to the bathroom,” the teacher said. “And that’s outside of school. And that’s one class, one set of papers.”
With teachers in Clark County and elsewhere in Nevada facing a similar situation, reducing class sizes is important. But so is making sure teachers are being well-compensated, especially those who choose to serve in schools that are struggling.
Numbers can be sliced and diced a lot of ways, but there’s no arguing Aguero’s. Nevada’s teachers are being underpaid and overloaded with students.
