Governor-elect Lombardo says he will expand school choice

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Election season is over, and soon we will see new faces in office here in Nevada.

Among them is governor-elect Joe Lombardo, who has been talking about our schools in his first speech since winning.

"It's a win for parents who want to have a voice in their child's education," Lombardo said during that speech at his alma mater Rancho High School.

He says he will be focusing on education when he takes on his role as Nevada's top boss come January.

"As your next governor, my administration will expand school choice and make school safety a priority," Lombardo said.

Increasing school choice has been one of his platforms during his campaign.

It's something Valeria Gurr, with the American Federation for Children, is excited about.

"Thank you for saying you're going to insert options so the families that the system doesn't serve them, can have them," Gurr said.

Let's break down what Lombardo means by increasing school choice options.

In his plan on his website, Lombardo has mentioned expanding access to charter schools.

It's something Gurr believes is desperately needed, including here in Clark County, where there are both Clark County School District charters and non-CCSD charters.

"If you check, most of them have a waiting list," Gurr said. "And some of the problems that we face is that low-income communities want to have access to these options in certain areas where the traditional public school is failing these kids."

Lombardo also wants to increase access to opportunity scholarships.

"A low-income family that has not passed more than 300% of the federal poverty line, essentially is able to access a scholarship to attend a private school of their choice," Gurr said. "When it comes to Opportunity Scholarship, it's only 2,300 kids have access to that. That's less than half of a 1%."

And then there are education savings accounts - or ESAs, something we don't currently have in Nevada.

Earlier this year, a judge said the initiative was unconstitutional because it fails to identify funding for the measure.

Under ESAs, the state sets aside money, usually based on its per-pupil funding formulas, in individual accounts for participating students. Parents can pull that money to spend on expenses like private school tuition, tutoring, transportation, etcetera.

When it comes to school vouchers, a term you hear often when talking about school choice, it's something that is currently unfunded in Nevada.

"I really have no idea where he wants to do with the vouchers or the ESA," Gurr said. "But essentially, he's saying we're going to bring school choice to the state, and it is still to be determined what is going to be his agenda."

Vouchers allow parents to use public funding allocated to their child towards a private school of their choice.

Many of these programs start out targeting certain students, like those with disabilities or who are from low-income families.

But some are hesitant with certain aspects of school choice.

"I believe there should be some regulation with respect to private schools in terms of, you know, maybe not testing," Sylvia Lazos said. "But you know, what is their curriculum? How many - tell me how right now, how many teachers have a certification?"

Lazos is a professor at the UNLV School of Law and former policy director for Educate Nevada Now.

She says things like vouchers could also impact money coming into our traditional public schools like those in the Clark County School District.

"I am concerned about how underfunded our schools are, and public schools are, and that if we don't expand the revenue pie, that it will necessarily be less for some sector of this diverse educational opportunities to be able to use to improve our system," Lazos said.

Gurr disagrees.

"The argument has been used up," Gurr said. "So sure, if you say that money is the issue, then show me how you use the money and open up the system and tell me how is this serving our kids. It's not just money.

News 3 reached out to governor-elect Lombardo's campaign to see how his plan's to expand school choice would be funded.

His communications director tells News 3 Lombardo is, "Governor Lombardo is looking forward to working with the Legislature on this, in addition to immediately addressing school safety and public safety next session. We look forward to discussing school choice in more detail as we enter the 2023 Legislative session."

Reach out to the Crisis in the Classroom tip line on issues important to you in our schools, including school choice: schooltips@news3lv.com or call (702) 805-0489.