The Assembly room at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City, Nevada Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 | 4:26 p.m.
Democrats in the Nevada Senate and Assembly today announced a proposed $250 million matching fund that incentivizes school districts to boost pay for teachers and school support staff.
Gov. Joe Lombardo announced at his State of the State last month that his budget proposes a $2 billion additional investment in schools under the state’s pupil-centered funding plan, though he did not specify a dedicated amount for raises.
“Although historic, we are not satisfied with the amount of K-12 education in Gov. Lombardo’s proposed budget,” incoming Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement. “In this time of record revenues, we must do more, especially for our educators and education support professionals, because there is no greater investment we can make than in Nevada’s students.”
“Teachers and education support professionals are the bedrock of our public education system,” Ways and Means Committee Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno said in a statement. “Supporting our teachers and education support staff makes our schools and communities stronger.”
The new Legislature convenes Monday.
Clark County Education Association, the largest teachers union in Clark County School District, welcomed the proposal. The union said it equates to a 10% raise for licensed and support staff, the latter of which includes classroom aides, bus drivers, secretaries, civilian security, janitors and food service workers.
“We currently have a teacher vacancy crisis in CCSD. Dedicated funding for teacher raises is a critical step forward in addressing teacher retention and recruitment,” CCEA said in a statement. “Simply put, without a teacher in every classroom, students will not learn.”
CCEA said Democratic leadership clearly understands the solution to Nevada’s statewide teacher staffing challenges, which in CCSD alone meant starting the school year with nearly 1,400 open positions.
CCSD brought up the starting pay for teachers from about $43,000 to about $50,000 this year, which district officials have said has ignited interest in teaching in the Las Vegas area.
“Nevada schools are facing record numbers of teacher vacancies, and it must be our top priority to ensure we have a qualified teacher in every classroom,” Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said in a statement.
CCEA also said the state must invest in building the teacher preparation pipeline, which can start with vocational programs in high schools and lead to free college to study education in exchange for teaching locally.
Democrats’ raise proposal includes raises in the first year of the coming biennium and inflation adjustments in the second year.
The statewide Nevada State Education Association said the matching fund mechanism is a “good start" and again promoted its Time for 20 campaign, which gives teachers a 20% raise, wages of at least $20 an hour for support staff, and limiting class sizes to 20 students.
“$250 million is a good down payment on NSEA’s Time for 20 campaign,” Dawn Etcheverry, NSEA’s president, said in a statement.
CCSD, the largest school district in Nevada and the fifth-largest in the United States, said in a statement that while the proposal is “commendable,” it doesn’t “cover the totality of salaries and benefits for the state’s education-related staff and must be ongoing, or it will be unsustainable in future years.”
The district cited last year’s recommendation by the state Commission on School Funding, which projected a 10% increase in school staff base salaries would cost about $325 million.
Still, CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara said in the statement that "this is exactly what I have been calling for since my State of the Schools address last month and the year prior.”
“As the other superintendents across the state and I continue saying, without optimal education funding levels this session, we will not be able to retain our teachers and support professionals and recruit to fill vacancies plus provide the wrap-around services that ultimately serve our students in their academic success.”
