Lawmakers tackle teacher shortage with scholarship fund, bonuses
CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval and legislative leaders introduced a new $15 million initiative late Friday designed to ease Nevada’s teacher shortage.
The two-pronged program outlined in Senate Bill 511 sets aside $5 million over the biennium for the Teach Nevada Scholarship Fund. Nevada universities, colleges or other alternative licensure programs that offer teaching programs will be able to apply for grant money to fund scholarships at their institutions.
A second component provides $10 million over the biennium to give 1,000 new teachers a bonus of $5,000 in each of the next two years to help fill critical vacancies in at-risk schools.
The Clark County School District currently needs to fill 2,600 teaching positions for 2015-16. The district also expects Nevada’s colleges and universities to produce less than 800 teacher candidates this year. With private colleges and an internal program for alternative licensing, district officials worry that teacher production in Nevada may only reach 1,300 this year.
Competition will also be tough. California school districts have said they plan to hire 21,500 teachers statewide — the largest number of teachers hired there in the past decade.
“We know that a great teacher can transform the life of a student,” Sandoval said in a statement. “Attracting and preparing educators for success in the classroom is a key component to changing Nevada’s education system for the better.”
Funding for the initiative was not included in Sandoval’s original budget. Legislative money committees have closed all agency budgets totaling around $7.2 billion.
The bill was put on a fast track and will skip vetting by a committee. Instead it will be considered by the whole Senate.
The added expenditure comes at a critical time in the session when the governor is trying to convince legislators to pass his $1.1 billion tax package.
Lawmakers face a deadline of midnight June 1 to adjourn.
Review-Journal writer Neal Morton contributed to this report.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.
