Comments (2) | Add a comment
Credit for increased funding for schools spread around
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The Clark County School Board got plenty of suggestions Tuesday on whom to thank for its additional $250 million in state funding for next year, which should be enough to maintain current class sizes and eliminate the need for teacher layoffs.
Joyce Haldeman, associate superintendent for government and community relations, praised Republican state lawmakers for reversing their stand against extending taxes about to expire.
"I would encourage you as a board to let them know how much you appreciate their courage, their leadership and the fact that it will make a big difference for us," Haldeman said.
The Republicans changed course after a state Supreme Court decision that made it untenable for the Legislature to take local funds for state purposes.
Republicans then agreed to extend taxes in exchange for Democrats enacting several education reforms.
The district's operating budget for next year is $2.1 billion and still has a shortfall of about $150 million because of declining local revenues.
Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association, said teachers deserve a lot of credit for a 2008 ballot initiative that created a room tax. It is expected to generate $111 million in education funding for the state, or $75 million for Clark County in the next fiscal year starting July 1.
"You can thank me now," said Murillo, whose group bargains for district teachers. "Don't let anybody say we don't help you out."
Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, which represents the state's teachers unions, said she had "mixed feelings" over the room tax money because it was intended to supplement regular education funding, not fill a budget hole.
Warne said the state was using room taxes to get to its per-pupil support up to 2009 levels. Under the terms of the ballot initiative, the room tax funding was to be set aside in a special fund to use for teacher salaries and other designated needs of local school districts.
Victor Joecks, communications director for the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute, said he is more interested in return on investment and student achievement.
"It's unfortunate that the debate over education comes down to how much are we spending, instead of what are we getting for what we're spending," he said.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
*** WARNING ***
RJ benefits from a JOA. Government Censorship rules in effect.
*** WARNING ***
Warne said the state was using room taxes to get to its per-pupil support up to 2009 levels.
That "per-pupil" figure is an almost meaningless accounting statistic. CCSD doesn't properly account for its cost of revenues.
CCSD receives ~30% of the State's General Fund. By some wonkish formulae it also receives a big chunk of local property/sales tax revenues. That money doesn't really come free. We as taxpayers spend a LOT of money on the huge tax collecting bureaucracy necessary to collect it. For example:
NV Dept of Taxation
NV Gaming Control Board
The Justice System, ie cops, Judges, and court staff, which basically generate fines earmarked for CCSD.
The Clark County Assessor's Office
The list of professional coffee drinkers goes on and on.
Yet through the magic of government accounting (ie use of the General "slush" Fund) CCSD doesn't have to incorporate those costs. They're just allocated to those other executive branch accounts.
It's a shell game.
And let's not forget that the government *deputizes* the private sector as tax collectors, ie it doesn't award "sales commissions" to merchants and casinos for collecting the taxes. This in violation of our constitutional prohibition against involuntary servitude. What the government reports in consumer-driven tax receipts should really be reduced by ~10%.
If you perform a careful analysis of true CCSD's cost structure you would discover that its efficiency -- the amount of money which actually trickles down to the kids versus the total amount of money spent -- is as POOR as can be. Even worse than those BIG charities.
This answers the riddle posed by so many taxpayers: "Where does all the money go?"
You can thank ME! I am a billionaire who decided that, out of the kindness of my heart, I would help fund education in a state that doesn't give a flying rats butt about bettering the lives of their children - just like the republicans want! What other wealthy Americans out there want to help me out on this? What? No one? GASP! Big surprise!