Nevada nonprofit gets $51M grant to expand charter schools statewide

A grant worth nearly $51 million from the U.S. Department of Education will help expand access to charter schools in Nevada, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit announced Tuesday.

Opportunity 180, a nonprofit that says its aim is to improve children’s access to high quality public education, announced the five-year grant is worth $50,869,595. According to fiscal transparency site USAspending.gov, it’s the largest grant ever given by the department to a Nevada nonprofit.

The money will go toward opening or expanding up to 27 charter schools in Nevada that will educate more than 15,400 total students annually, said Tamara Shear, Opportunity 180’s CEO, in an event announcing the grant at Vegas Vista Academy in the northeast valley.

Opportunity 180 held the previous record for a $22 million grant it received from the Department of Education in 2020.

Shear said existing charter programs with at least a three-star rating are eligible to apply for funding from Opportunity 180’s grant, and schools educating “historically underserved” populations will be prioritized for grant funding. She added that each school accepted by Opportunity 180 will receive up to $2 million for school development.

“Families deserve choice, and they deserve to have access to the education model that best meets their kids,” Shear said.

Bipartisan support

The massive investment into charter school expansion got support from the likes of Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, who both said they wrote letters recommending Opportunity 180 receive the grant.

Lombardo called the investment a culmination of his efforts to improve education in Nevada and reiterated his support for charter schools as a solution to improve education for low-income students.

“No kid should have to suffer because of where they live or how much money their family makes,” Lombardo said at the announcement Tuesday. “School choice has a different vision amongst all of us … but charter schools are definitely a part of that.”

Lee said she supported the grant and the initiative to expand charter schools because the state has an “incredible need” to improve education outcomes for students.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to go to a quality school, and every parent deserves the opportunity to make a choice for what education looks like for their children, and that’s exactly what Opportunity 180 achieves for Nevada,” Lee said.

Newly appointed Nevada superintendent of public instruction Victor Wakefield also showed support for charter school expansion, saying it empowers parents to find education paths that best fit the needs of their children. He said he’s excited for more kids to join the more than 65,000 students already enrolled in charter schools in Nevada.

“Our mission is clear: to ensure that every Nevada student is equipped to build a great future for themselves, their families and their communities,” Wakefield said. “With this new investment, these opportunities are going to grow, multiplying the impact of innovation across our communities.”

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.