Lawmakers pass school funding bill

CARSON CITY — The Senate Finance Committee today endorsed an Assembly-approved plan that would make a supplemental appropriation of $323 million to Nevada's Distributive School Account for K-12 schools because of unanticipated revenue shortfalls this fiscal year.

Sen. Bernice Mathews, D-Reno, the committee co-chairwoman, said the amount in AB533 is $7 million more than what Gov. Jim Gibbons recommended.

The Republican governor's proposed budget for the next two fiscal years provides nearly $2.3 billion, or 37 percent of the total budget, to K-12 schools. That's down 2.6 percent, or nearly $62 million.

The state's per-pupil spending would drop from $5,098 this year to $4,945 next fiscal year; and increase by just $1 to $4,946 in the second year of the upcoming budget cycle.