The disruption COVID-19 and subsequent closures has brought upon our K-12 schools, higher ed institutions, students, teachers and families has generated a great deal of concern and questions regarding the impacts on learning outcomes and uncertainty about what education will look like next fall.
Our Interim Education Committee Hearing is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 16
th
at 10:00 a.m.
You can watch the meeting online and preview the presentation materials here:
https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Interim2019/Meeting/5522
We will be covering a number of key topics including the menu of options for reopening. Here is what is on the agenda.
- Presentation on Nevada’s Ranking in Education Week’s Annual Quality Counts Report
- Discussion on School Closures and Distance Learning Plans in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Discussion Concerning the Administration of Student Assessments
- Presentation on the Evaluation of Zoom and Victory Schools Programs
- Update on the Read by Grade 3 Program
- Updates on Provisions Related to English Learners
- Report on Charter School Site Evaluations
- Report on the Status of the State Financial Literacy Advisory Council
- Report on the Status of Incentives for Teachers Employed at a Title I or Underperforming Schools
As the only legislator outside of
Clark County
on the Interim Education Committee,
I always appreciate your input as I do my best to represent our region and the rest of the state.
I would also encourage you to call in for public comment at the beginning or end of the meeting and you can submit letters to be placed into the record by emailing them to
Education@lcb.state.nv.us
.
Impacts on our Education Budget
COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges not only in the delivery of quality education but to our fiscal health as a state.
On Friday June 12th, the Interim Finance Committee (IFC) met to discuss the $812M revenue shortfall and vote on cuts in FY'20 which ends June 30
th
. Cuts to Education totaled $265M for this fiscal year alone.
As many of you know the entire reason I began advocating and eventually serving in the NV Legislature was to fight cuts to education in the last recession
. I will never forget sitting in a meeting with 20 other leaders to address the $123M in cuts over a five year period with then Governor Sandoval back in 2013. To see $265M in cuts in just 3
short
months is heartbreaking however, the rainy day fund is being used to cover the losses and the school year is over so the impact for the most part has been mitigated… for now.
It is what we are facing in FY'21 that has caused me many sleepless nights as we consider an additional anticipated shortfall of between $1-1.5B out of a $4.5B budget. I fully anticipate we will address this in a special session but no dates have been set at this point.
To understand more about the
overall budget in Nevada
and to get a better understanding of all the needs we will be balancing alongside education, you can dig deeper here:
http://budget.nv.gov/
.
I have not been a member of the finance committees in the past so it is like drinking from a firehose to wrap my head around our $9.1B budget over the biennium but I have been working hard to dig deep into the data and I welcome smart allies in the process. From what I have seen so far,
I am deeply concerned we have not taken more action sooner.
As difficult as inevitable cuts and implementing budget saving solutions like furloughs are,
sharing the sacrifice of this fiscal crisis and spreading out the impact over time could have eased some of the pain
of the steep cliff we are facing heading into this next fiscal cycle. Instead, our state swept the entire rainy day fund
before
making any cuts, delayed furloughs to next fiscal year and did not cut enough to keep a 5% general fund reserve as we close out this fiscal year. This will inevitably hurt our bond rating making it more expensive to borrow money when we will most definitely need it in the not so distant future.
According to a May 2017 report by The
Pew Charitable Trusts
, "
Nevada and Virginia offer lessons for policymakers on the importance of aligning budget reserves with the economic cycle. Nevada policymakers, assuming that the gaming and tourism industry was less vulnerable to swings in the business cycle, did not build up reserves during the early 2000's when revenue was soaring. When the recession hit and many Americans curtailed travel spending, Nevada’s revenue plummeted. So did its rainy day fund balance, which did not offset the deep spending cuts, tax increases, borrowing, and one-time federal stimulus money that the state needed to balance its budget. Moody’s downgraded Nevada’s credit as a result, citing the state’s reduced reserves, declining revenue, and overall weakened finances
."
“History repeats itself because nobody listens the first time.”
- Anonymous
I will do everything within my power to advocate for keeping as much in education as possible but cuts are unavoidable given the impact this pandemic has had on our economy and subsequent revenues.
If you will allow me to be vulnerable for a moment, what I would appreciate most from all of you and our education allies is your thoughtful recommendations, research, support and
empathy
as we face these extremely difficult decisions ahead.
I welcome you into the process of finding solutions wherever possible.
COVID is still among us as we witness spikes across the country in regions slowly reopening and
Washoe County just reported the highest rate of active cases two days in a row and our 70
th
death
. It is important to continue practicing social distancing, washing your hands, and taking prudent safety precautions to
help us stay safe and keep our economy open
. Thank you to all of you for your past and current support. Please do not hesitate to reach out with your thoughts, questions and ideas. We are truly in this together and that is the only way for us to get through this successfully.
In Service,
Jill Tolles
Assembly District 25
Additional Resource Links:
For more information on
Washoe County School District
, click
here
.
For more information on the
NV Department of Education
, go
here
.
For the latest updates from the
Nevada System of Higher Education
, visit
here
.
The Legislative Counsel Bureau
has put together a great
resources page
here
.
To see the latest information, links and resources compiled by the
Reno Tahoe Chamber of Commerce
visit
here
.
