Nevada has gained a reputation for its deteriorating education system. The state is infamous for the poor ratio of quality that it has maintained in education for the last four terms, raising serious concern about the government's education policies.
Even after increasing budget and expenses, Nevada schools consistently rank among the lowest in the nation. Nevada is already spending roughly $10,200 per student, a similar amount compared to other states in the United States regarding education. Despite the present funding, there is no considerable growth in the education system.
Clark County Education Association believed that the tariff hike would help them fix the education system of Nevada. Clark County Education Association (CCEA) announced policies for tax hikes in gaming tax and states' sales tax that would bring about $1.4 billion in additional revenue for public education.
By doing so, they are putting Nevada in the highest sales tax collector states in the United States after California, New York, and Massachusetts. There's no correlation between investing more funds and improving the education system. Florida's academic performance ranked fourth in the nation in 2018, yet they contribute less per student than 48 other states. Florida passed reforms that ensure students have access to classrooms that suit their demands without the extra funding.
The root problem of Nevada's education system is not the education budget but the accountability of the administrations and departments. Nevada Clark County School District is administering over 100 schools that have routinely received failing grades from the state.
Most students aren't proficient in reading, and 99 percent are ranked "below grade level" in math. The system is so muddled that despite poor conditions of education quality, the school receives adequate ratings for all of its staff.
After receiving so much assessment, the district's official evaluations claimed that there is not a single ineffective principal or administrator in any of the district's roughly 400 schools. The official teacher evaluations made an identical claim that only 0.1% of the district's 20,000 teachers were described as inefficient.
Nevada's education system failed to increase accountability and empower parents with greater educational choices. The administration is more concentrated on tax hikes, which are already higher than other states. A tax hike raises a big question when the current education budget suffices to ensure all students can meet all state standards and requirements.
Lack of accountability and transparency is a major concern that needs to be addressed for reforming the education system rather than the huge burden of the tax hike. There is an urgent need for private schools like similar education systems to improve performance through rigorous, meaningful evaluations of teachers and school leaders.
Nevada's school systems have all the funding they need. The state should instead focus on improving evaluations and accountability for its faculty and administrations.
