Nev. lawmakers back education funding change
By Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal
CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers and educators on Monday recommended Nevada’s public education funding formula include more money for students in poverty or with limited English proficiency.
The minimum funding increase supported by the Task Force on K-12 Public Education Funding is 50 percent but could be set higher.
The 1.5 weighted ratio approved by the 15-member committee, which also included parents and financial experts, will now be turned into a bill for consideration by the 2015 Legislature.
If approved, Nevada’s per pupil funding formula would be altered to reflect the increase in support for these at-risk populations of students. The existing funding formula does not allocate additional support to educate these groups.
A majority of the panel also endorsed a recommendation to phase in the new funding to minimize any impacts to rural school districts, which otherwise could see their funding decline under the new formula if overall education spending does not increase.