School budget cuts announced on Teacher Appreciation Day?
Unbelievable. On Tuesday, Teachers Appreciation Day, the lead headline in the Review-Journal’s Nevada section reads, “CCSD faces $68M gap to close.” In a state that is ranked low for high school graduation rates and other national education rankings, schools are being asked to cut their per-student funding up to $184. Nevada already ranks low as well in teacher salaries.
If you know any Clark County School District teachers, ask them how much personal, out-of-pocket money they spend to make up for the deficiencies in supplies that the district provides to teachers. In fact, many teachers personally purchase food to provide to students who suffer from food insecurity and come to school hungry.
We have an educational system that ranks low in student performance, school financing and other qualitative factors, as well as a system that pays teachers poorly. Yet we are about to pull $68 million from the budget? Is it any wonder why we are ranked poorly on crime, addiction, foster care rates and other quality of life indicators?
