RENO — The long-simmering debate over school choice in Nevada hit a pivotal moment Wednesday, when the state's interim finance committee decided not to use unallocated federal money to replace dried-up funds for a private school scholarship program pushed by the Republican governor but rejected by legislative Democrats.
Because of a drop in funding for the program — which exists to help students from low-income families attend private schools — several hundred children learned this summer that they might not be able to return to their private schools.
It looks like that's exactly what will happen after the state's Interim Finance Committee voted down a plan from Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, to use COVID-19 relief funds to subsidize the scholarship program.
Lombardo originally wanted to expand eligibility and provide an additional $50 million for the state's Opportunity Scholarship program, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2015, that allows businesses to receive tax credits on donations that go toward the private and religious school tuitions of mostly low-income students.
However, with that proposal dead, Lombardo wanted to use $3.2 million in unallocated federal coronavirus relief funds to maintain existing scholarships that his office says will soon run out.
The committee sent a three-page letter to Lombardo's team asking him to answer several questions for Wednesday's meeting, including how many students could lose their opportunity scholarships and the price tag. A report from the 2022-2023 academic year also shows that the program took in $3.8 million more in donations than was spent, which is supposed to roll over to the next year. The letter also asks how much in funding this year stems from unspent funding last year.
Lombardo's spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said nearly 800 students could be forced to switch schools without additional funding.
"Traditional public schools are not and should not be the only option," said Lombardo, who stood with parents and children who support school choice at a rally last week.
MORE: Lombardo makes case for scholarships ahead of key meeting
Usually opposed by teachers unions and Democrats, school choice generally refers to taxpayer-funded programs to fund or expand access to other educational options including private or charter schools, home-schooling or hybrid models. Proponents of school choice say it gives students more options, especially for those who don't benefit from traditional public schools. Democratic lawmakers warn that using public funds for private schools will gut resource-strapped public schools.
Wednesday's meeting saw the same partisan debate that has engulfed the Opportunity Scholarship program since January. The committee is split 15-7 in favor of Democrats, and a back-and-forth has already emerged over the history of the negotiations.
During the 12-hour meeting at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, several Democrats tried to shift the blame on one of the six non-profit organizations that facilitate scholarships, Florida-based AAA Scholarship Foundation, which was awarded over $6 million in scholarship tax credits last year.
The tax credits are sold to Nevada businesses in exchange for donations for the scholarships. But the system, as Democrats pointed out, has a number of loopholes. One of the biggest is that the non-profits are served on a first-come, first-served basis. State Sen. Dallas Harris argued that AAA didn't need as much as it took and that the organization should have allowed others to collect some of the funds.
"You, today, have reserve sufficient to cover all of these students and could do so," Harris told Denise Lasher, an AAA consultant who was representing the non-profit at the meeting.
The meeting was contentious at times as committee members grilled Lasher with some calling her organization "greedy".
Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said restoring scholarship funding was never part of negotiations during the recent legislative session. Lombardo only put the program's expansion on the table.
"I would have loved to have that discussion during session ... but now we're left with a take-it-or-leave-it," Yeager said at a news conference last week.
Following Wednesday night's vote, Gov. Lombardo issued the following statement.
"In an act of callous partisanship, today Democrats turned their backs on hundreds of low-income students that our traditional school system has failed or left behind. Forcibly removing hundreds of low-income students from their schools after the school year has already begun is devastating and simply incomprehensible. My administration grieves with the hundreds of students who will be crushed by Democrats removing them from their friends, teachers, and schools, and my administration remains more committed than ever to fighting for all Nevada students. Our fight continues."
However, Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro and Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop said nobody on the committee wants to kick kids out of schools and that the state has the money.
"Rather than rely on one-time federal funds, the Lombardo administration should be fiscally responsible and ensure that the millions of dollars that already exist are spent on students currently enrolled in the program," said Loop. "Instead of blaming other Nevadans to score politican points, the Governor should show leadership and demand that his out-of-state allies stop hoarding this money and instead distribute those funds to the students who need them."
Lombardo and Democrats both agreed on an unprecedented $2 billion in public school funding that helps lift it from the bottom of per-pupil funding rankings but still puts it below average when compared with other states. Still, Democrats have knocked Lombardo for vetoing bills that would have provided funding for free school meals and expanded summer school.
