“In total, my executive budget…introduces more student and parental choices than any budget in Nevada history. For the first time, parents will have an advocate inside government promoting the expansion of school choice in Nevada.”
* And to prove it, he proposed…
- Doubling Opportunity Scholarship funding to $50 million this year…rising to $100 million
in the next biennium…and up to $500 million for fiscal 2032. - Boosting the eligibility income cap from 300% above the federal poverty level to 500%...which will make a lot more families eligible
- Creating a new Office of School Choice inside his Department of Education
- Ordering an audit of all school districts’ books
* Lombardo also said: “We’ll look at bigger bites as we move forward.”
* The reviews of the governor’s proposals by school choice supporters have been overwhelmingly positive. For example, school choice champion Valerie Gurr of School Choice Now said…
“It is really refreshing to have a governor who wants to expand the Opportunity Scholarship Program. (Lombardo) is proposing making funding permanent for it and increasing funding in record numbers that we haven’t seen before.”
* Added Erin Phillips of Power2Parent…
“Parents overwhelmingly support school choice, and now we have a governor who understands that education plays a critical role in the future success of our state.”
* But Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks isn’t satisfied with moving the ball downfield a few yards at a time. He wants the governor to throw a “Hail Mary” on every down and started nipping at Lombardo’s heels just minutes after the new governor’s State of the State speech last month.
* In his column today, Victor complained that Lombardo “has made no effort to resurrect education savings accounts,” adding that “it’s naïve to pretend school choice supporters should be satisfied with Lombardo.”
* Maybe he wants Sisolak back?
* Here’s the reality…
* Lombardo has already signaled he’ll push for ESAs in the future. They were originally approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2015, but then-Gov. Sandoval refused to fund them.
* Sisolak and the Democrats then killed ESAs outright in 2019 when they had the majority again in both houses. Does Victor really think there’s a snowball’s chance in Hades that they’ll change their minds this session?
* Again, the State Senate is controlled by Democrats, 13-8. And the D’s have a SUPER-majority in the Assembly, 28-14. ESA revival would be DOA this session.
* As part of Victor’s ongoing sniping at Lombardo, he took a snarky shot at him yesterday for not being as aggressive as Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
* But again, political reality is at play. Abbott enjoys Republican control of the Texas Legislature. According to Ballotpedia, Republicans hold a 19-12 advantage in the Senate and an 86-64
majority in the House.
* In addition, Abbott has been in office for seven years. Lombardo hasn’t even been in office for seven WEEKS yet. Give the man a chance!
* Victor is a solid conservative policy guy dating back to his days working for the Nevada Policy Research Institute think tank. But politics isn’t his strong suit.
* He needs to learn how to take half a loaf now and come back for the other half later.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Joe believes that a student’s zip code shouldn’t determine the quality of their
education. To ensure every child has access to the best education possible, Joe
will implement school choice initiatives that empower Nevada families. By
expanding access to charter schools, providing more opportunity scholarships,
and investing in Education Savings Accounts, Joe believes that we can make our
education system work better for every student and every family.” – Lombardo campaign website