Schools budget OK’d

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's first experiment with the Education First initiative did not force a special session of the Legislature as opponents had predicted.

On Friday, the public schools budget passed the Senate unanimously and was sent to Gov. Jim Gibbons for his signature.

Assembly Bill 627 contains $2.3 billion in general fund spending, plus $354 million from other sources.

The bill increases the amount spent per pupil by the state from $4,696 in the current school year to $5,122 next year and $5,323 in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Education First, requiring the Legislature to fund the public schools before passing any other spending measures, was put on the ballot by Gibbons before he was elected governor.

This was the first time the constitutional amendment was in play in a legislative session.

Disputes over education spending between Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature, and with Gibbons and the Legislature over education and other, unrelated issues, had earlier threatened to send lawmakers into a special session.

The disputes also prompted Gibbons to issue a veto threat if a limited number of programs he deemed important were not included in the final budget, which will total about $6.8 billion over two years.

There is now a good chance lawmakers can finish up by Monday's deadline.

The bill was approved without a single comment. It passed the Assembly on Thursday.

The bill's passage clears the way for lawmakers to pass other spending bills, including the overall budget bill that funds the operation of state government for two years beginning July 1.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, voted for the education bill but said it was anything but education first.

"I still wish we had put education first. I think this maintains the status quo," she said. "But I'm not going to vote against half a loaf. It's better than no loaf at all."

The bill was the result of several days of closed-door negotiations by legislative leaders.

The education budget includes almost $10 million for an empowerment program in 29 schools around the state, at a cost of $400 per student. Gibbons had asked for $60 million to fund 100 empowerment schools.

Most decisions at these designated schools are made for the most part by principals, teachers and parents, not the central administration.

The budget also includes $15 million to establish full-day kindergarten classes in 63 additional schools. Democrats had wanted full-day kindergarten classes in all 340 elementary schools in the state.

Full-day kindergarten now is offered in 114 schools where more than 55 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches.

The new funding will lower this threshold to schools where about 38 percent of the children qualify for the lunches.

Joyce Haldeman, a lobbyist for the Clark County School District, said 16 of the empowerment schools would be created in Clark County. Five will be funded in Washoe County and eight in the rural counties.

As to full-day kindergarten, Haldeman said the district anticipates getting funding for an additional 38 schools.

There are 199 elementary schools in the district, and 71 have full-day kindergarten now from state funding. Many others offer full-day kindergarten if parents are willing to pay the cost through the "Pay for K" program.