jim hartman
In a March 6 interview with John Ralston of the Nevada Independent, which covered a wide range of topics, one-term Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo gave himself a “B+” rating after 14 months in office. He announced his intention to seek re-election in 2026.
Much of the interview focused on education in Nevada and whether Lombardo's historic $2.6 billion increase in K-12 funding would lead to significant improvements to Nevada's education system.
The large budget surplus allowed Lombardo to propose a significant 30% increase in per-pupil spending from $10,293 in 2023 to $13,387 in 2025. This is the largest biennial spending increase in K-12 education in Nevada history.
During his gubernatorial campaign, Lombardo said it was time to address the “hard facts” about public education. Nevada public schools have historically been underfunded and have historically underperformed students.
Others are also reading…
When Lombardo announced the spending increases in his State of the State address last year, he made it clear that he expected results in return.
“And if we don't start seeing results, I'll be standing here in two years calling for systemic changes in governance and leadership in K-12 education,” he said at the time.
Asked by Ralston if he intended to have education “fixed” by Congress in 2025, Lombardo said, “Oh, not really.”
Tragically, K-12 education in Nevada must contend with a national scourge of learning loss due to coronavirus lockdowns and school closures.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, is the largest national organization assessing student achievement in the United States since 1969.
The 2022 results released showed unprecedented declines in reading and math test scores compared to tests administered by NAEP in 2020, before the pandemic.
Despite efforts to address learning loss, the academic decline suffered during the pandemic has not stabilized, according to the latest data from June last year.
American teachers unions demanded that schools remain closed, even though schools are open in Europe. School closures have set America's children back years. Teachers unions used the pandemic to extort money from Congress.
Schools received $190 billion in federal coronavirus relief to safely reopen and address learning loss, but much of that money went unspent as schools remained closed. Nevada schools received more than $1.5 billion through three federal coronavirus relief packages.
In Nevada's case, the 2022 National Report Card test found that the average math scores for both fourth- and eighth-grade students were lower than the national average and lower than the 2019 Nevada average.
Math proficiency among fourth graders declined from 34% in 2019 to 28% in 2022, and math proficiency among eighth graders declined from 26% to 21%.
When it comes to reading, Nevada's average 4th grade test score in 2022 was lower than the national average and lower than the 2019 Nevada average. Reading proficiency declined from 31% in 2019 to 27% in 2022.
The average 2022 reading test score for Nevada's 8th graders was in line with the national average and the same as the 2019 Nevada average. Reading comprehension was 29% in both years.
Additionally, high school graduation rates are lower than pre-pandemic levels and more than a third of Nevada students are chronically absent.
In the 2023 legislative session, Lombardo supported the reinstatement of Gov. Brian Sandoval's 3rd Grade Reading Act, which curbs the learning of children who don't reach third-grade reading proficiency.
Lombardo proposed a bill that would restore teachers' power to remove students from their classrooms, with support from all 17 school superintendents and the teachers union. The law allows school administrators to suspend and expel students in egregious cases such as assault, drug dealing, and firearm possession.
In an executive order last year, the governor mandated audits of Nevada's 17 public school districts and the state's public charter school authority.
Mr. Lombardo emphasized that unprecedented investments in K-12 education require unprecedented accountability and fiscal responsibility.
Email Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.