Sandoval will determine fate of ESAs

Contrary to what you might have heard, Education Savings Accounts are not dead. They’re very much alive.

And they’ll be back again this summer — if Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval wants it so.

Nevada’s ESA program, signed into law by Sandoval in 2015, allows parents to withdraw a child from public school and receive a portion of the money Nevada would have spent on a student’s enrollment. Parents can spend that money on things like private school tuition, online learning or home-based education. Last year the Nevada Supreme Court ruled the funding source for ESAs wasn’t constitutional but upheld the rest of the program, leaving the door open for lawmakers to approve a new funding source this year.

“The Governor has made both a financial and legislative commitment to fully implement ESAs in Nevada,” said Mari St. Martin, Sandoval’s communications director. “Those details will be released during his State of the State address” on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, has said that his caucus has “no intention” of funding ESAs. ESA funding would have to pass the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Senate to make it to Sandoval’s desk.

But if Sandoval wants ESAs, they’ll be in the state’s final budget this summer.

That’s because Sandoval has something more important and powerful than votes: the leverage of the veto.

If Democrats want to pass any of their as-yet-undefined agenda during the 2017 session, they need Sandoval’s signature or a two-thirds majority in each house to override a veto. Obtaining a two-thirds majority to kill ESAs would require Republican votes in each house — which isn’t happening.

“We’re very proud of the reforms we passed last session,” said Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson. “We would be opposed to any repeal or changing of those reforms.”

Although Republicans are in the legislative minority this year, Sandoval has all the leverage. If he vetoes the budget, he sets the agenda for any subsequent special session.

Sandoval’s public and behind-the-scenes campaign for the largest tax increase in Nevada history proved that he excels at exerting leverage.

ESAs, though, are a revenue-neutral program that increases per-pupil spending while enjoying widespread public support. Unlike tax increases, ESAs are an easy lift.

It’s essential that Sandoval maintains ESA eligibility for all public school students. Offering ESAs only to low-income families, for instance, would actually limit the number of choices for those students and imperil the program.

Here’s why: Starting a school is a significant investment that makes financial sense only if there’s a certainty of long-term enrollment stability. As we saw with the first incarnation of ESAs, prospective new schools will wait for the program to survive the sure-to-come legal and political challenges before launching. This means new schools in low-income neighborhoods eventually will come, but only when schools are sure ESAs are politically untouchable. The best way to create that certainty is to get more families invested in ESAs.

Sandoval understands policy well. His actions in June will mean much more than his words in Tuesday’s State of the State speech.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Nevada section each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.