LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Gov. Joe Lombardo announced an initiative Friday that could help hundreds of kids left in limbo by depleted Opportunity Scholarship funding.
The governor wants to use unallocated federal COVID-19 relief funds for the program, his office announced Friday afternoon.
The initiative was sent to the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, officials noted. Lombardo's Finance Office submitted a proposal to the committee, which has 15 days to take action "or it is deemed approved," according to state finance officers.
"I have been fighting for these children since I took office," Lombardo stated. "The Democrats in the Legislature refused to fund these scholarships, and the result is that unless we take action now, these children will be forced out of their schools for the upcoming school year. It's unacceptable to me to let that happen."
The Opportunity Scholarships program funds private school education for Nevada parents who otherwise may not be able to afford it.
As Channel 13's Bryan Horwath previously reported, it works by allowing tax credits to be sold to Nevada businesses in exchange for donations to the program.
Last school year, tax credit sales were capped at $11.4 million for the program, but this year, the ceiling is only $6.6 million.
That's largely because a bonus mechanism used to help fund the program expired and Nevada Legislators didn't act to reauthorize or replace it. A bill championed by Lombardo died in the last Legislative session.
That left more than 400 children in limbo, not knowing whether they'd be able to attend their schools this year, according to Michele Morgan, who runs a nonprofit called Silver State Scholarships that works to sell the tax credits.
Most of the families that take advantage of the Opportunity Scholarships program are low-income minority families, Valeria Gurr, a senior fellow with the American Federation for Children, told Channel 13.
According to state records, 54% of the roughly 1,400 students who received scholarship money last school year were identified as Hispanic, African American or mixed race.
Amy Stephenson, director of the Governor's Finance Office, said the use of COVID-19 relief funds to supplement the Opportunity Scholarships program would be "fully compliant with the final federal rules and is consistent with how these funds were allocated under the prior administration," referring to former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.
