Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Nevada is working hard to repair its underperforming K-12 education system. With the new pupil-centered funding formula championed by former Gov. Steve Sisolak and nearly $2 billion in new investment promised by current Gov. Joe Lombardo, bipartisan leadership is increasing the opportunities for Nevada’s K-12 students to succeed.
Unfortunately, the promise of a thriving K-12 education system cannot be fully realized until we remedy the troubling state of disrepair in Nevada’s classrooms and school buildings.
Within the first four days of the 2022-23 school year — when summer temperatures are still at or near their peak highs — two dozen Clark County public schools experienced entire-site air conditioning failures. Dozens more experienced partial failures.
All of that occurred less than 10 years after the Legislature granted additional bonding authority to the Clark County School District in 2015, leading to a $4.1 billion capital improvement plan that included replacements for several schools and modernization upgrades in others. Even with that infusion of money, far too many Southern Nevada children are being educated in buildings where air conditioners go out, rainwater runs in through the roof and the plumbing goes bad.
Conditions in rural classrooms are arguably even worse, as buildings more than 100 years old are plagued by asbestos, antiquated heating and cooling systems, cracked foundations, water damage and nonexistent fire suppression systems. Few rural schools have adequate access for students and staff with limited mobility, adding yet another layer of challenges to disabled students looking for nothing more than the opportunity to learn with their peers.
The situation is deeply concerning because Nevada’s children deserve better than crumbling buildings that lack even the most basic health, safety and security features.
Fortunately, thanks to the rapid recovery of Nevada’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and a massive one-time influx of resources from the federal government, Nevada has the opportunity to rebuild its crumbling education infrastructure.
Lombardo’s proposed $11 billion two-year budget is approximately $1.7 billion more than the previous budget established in 2021. That increase is in addition to approximately $1.9 billion in cash that resulted from a combination of federal pandemic recovery funding and a faster-than-expected fiscal turnaround following the pandemic.
Lombardo has already proposed a massive $2 billion increase in K-12 funding and $729 million for the Education Stabilization Account — a “rainy-day fund” for K-12 education. While restoration of the education stabilization account is an important priority, it’s hard to imagine a “rainier day” for K-12 education than watching water pour through the ceiling and into classrooms when it rains.
If any of the currently available funds can be put toward construction and renovation of school buildings, state lawmakers should invest in improving Nevada’s educational infrastructure right now. If current funds are unavailable due to legal limitations, the Legislature should issue bonds to pay for capital improvements. Either way, we cannot afford to kick the can down the road to the next generation of Nevadans.
As homeowners know, deferred maintenance snowballs — the depth and complexity of what were once minor issues increases, as does the price of goods and services. In other words, the longer maintenance-related problems are put off, the more expensive they become to repair.
This “snowballing” is already occurring in places like Ely. Its representative to the state Senate, Pete Goicoechea, introduced legislation asking the state to directly fund the $60 million that is needed to construct a new preschool-through-eighth-grade building.
Nevada’s Legislature should support Goicoechea’s proposal wholeheartedly and use it as a launchpad to discuss the need for capital improvements in schools across the state. After all, Lombardo’s current budget proposal dedicates $1.2 billion for three new state office buildings and a new Department of Motor Vehicles office in Southern Nevada. If the state can afford to build itself new offices, surely, it can afford to build our kids new schools.
Of course, none of these proposals will succeed if the needs of different districts cannot be properly assessed. So, we are calling on urban school districts like Clark and Washoe to work with their rural counterparts as allies and identify schools across the state that are most in need. By setting aside adversarial competition for resources, school districts can go to the Legislature with a single unified voice that ensures all of Nevada’s children are treated fairly and equitably, at least with regard to school infrastructure.
This needs to be done on an expedited schedule rather than the glacial rate that too often defines government action. The Legislature is in session right now. Fortunately, most school districts know what they need already. It should be a matter of assembling the list and having candid conversations between administrators to set priorities. No matter the process, it must be done in weeks, not months.
Finally, we encourage U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen to reintroduce the Public Buildings Renewal Act in the new session of Congress. Cortez Masto has been a champion of public education since taking office in 2016. For the past two sessions, she partnered with a Republican colleague to introduce legislation that would help school districts nationwide deal with their infrastructure needs. Unfortunately, the bill did not move forward in previous sessions. We are optimistic that with the immediacy of the COVID threat fading and the razor-thin margins in Congress all but requiring bipartisan collaboration, perhaps legislators will find a new appreciation for the proposal.
