Vegas parents hear details on education saving accounts

Las Vegas resident Dulce Inzunza has always dreamed of sending her daughter to private school.

"I grew up in Mexico and one of the reasons I came to this country was to pursue better opportunities," she said.

Earlier last month, Gov. Brian Sandoval made that goal easier for Inzunza and other parents in Nevada when he signed Senate Bill 302 into law, giving parents the opportunity to receive about $5,000 in state funds through an education savings account, or ESA, for their child to attend private school or home-based education.

"I‘m excited to be able to send my daughter to private school," Inzunza said. "This is an answered prayer."

On Saturday, Inzunza and nearly 300 other parents and community members gathered at Mountain View Christian School on East Bonanza Road for the first meeting hosted by Nevada Policy Research Institute to discuss the details of SB302. The institute is a conservative think tank based in Las Vegas.

The organization, which conducts research on public policy issues affecting Nevada and the nation, invited state Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, the bill‘s primary sponsor, to discuss it and address questions and concerns.

"Parents know their children inside and out, their dislikes and likes, what subjects they excel in and the obstacles they face," he said to the crowd. "I wanted to put more power in your hands so you can tailor the educational system around your individual child."

According to Hammond, once an education saving account is established, parents will receive quarterly installments.

Inzunza said because the funds are given to parents, some parents might misuse the funds.

"I hope parents are able to be good stewards with the money and not take advantage," she said.

Las Vegas resident Karen Barquero said she has the same concern and would like to see the funds go to the educational institution that the parent chooses for their child.

"If the money is given to the school they can report how it‘s used and be held responsible if there‘s a mistake," she said. "Education for my children is my first priority over my problems but I know that for some, money could be a temptation."

Barquero, like Inzunza, said SB302 provides an opportunity that wasn’t previously there for her children.

"I want extra for my kids and if I have the option to send my child to a Christian school I‘d like to because it will have a big impact on their life," she said.

The bill, according to Hammond, requires that students in kindergarten through 12th grade have been enrolled in public school for at least 100 consecutive days in order to be eligible to use the state money to attend a private school.

"If have to wait the 100 days I will," Barquero said.

She added that her third-grade daughter might be eligible to begin attending private school this fall through Opportunity Scholarships, another program through the Nevada Department of Education that offers tax breaks for businesses that provide grants for students to attend private schools.

"There‘s still a lot of information that we need to find out such as how soon we can apply," Barquero said. "For now, I‘m going to help spread the news to other parents and encourage them to use it so we can keep the law because if we don‘t talk about this it could disappear and our kids would be affected."

Hammond said regulations for SB302 are in the works and he anticipates that funds will be available by January.

"We won‘t know a lot until regulations are developed," he said. "We‘re hoping that applications will be online so it‘s accessible and easy."

Accessibility is the key concern for Maria and Cesar Lemos who have a 3-year-old daughter.

"I hope there‘s not a lot of red tape and that it‘s not difficult to get the money for children to go to school," Maria said. "Fortunately, I have Internet access but what about those families who don‘t? I hope more people become aware of this and have the ability to apply."

For now, it‘s a waiting game for the Lemos family and other families.

"The little that we know now, it sounds like this will be good," Cesar Lemos said. "We‘ll have to wait and see though how this is going to affect everyone."

Contact Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Find her on Twitter: @AnnFriedmanRJ.