VICTOR JOECKS: Lombardo dumps parents for union bosses

Joe Lombardo defeated an incumbent governor running as a champion of school choice. Now, he’s celebrating the support of a teachers union.

On Monday, the Clark County Education Association endorsed Lombardo for a second term. It praised him for approving $2.5 billion in new education funding and supporting “significant” teacher pay hikes. For his part, Lombardo called it an “honor” to be endorsed by “the largest and fastest growing teachers union in the country.”

Lombardo still claims to be a Republican, but those are the actions and rhetoric of the left.

This is a significant shift from Lombardo’s 2022 campaign. He held events with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and sought to mobilize parents against the education establishment.

“Our education system is failing our students and teachers, and systemic change is long overdue,” the education section on Lombardo’s campaign website states. Further, “to ensure every child has access to the best education possible, Joe will implement school choice initiatives that empower Nevada families.”

It would be one thing if Lombardo lost while running on school choice. In some blue states, that message wouldn’t sell. But he won. “My top priority is expanding school choice,” Lombardo even said in his inaugural address.

That was always going to be a challenge with Democrats controlling the heavily gerrymandered Legislature. But Lombardo gave away his leverage before the 2023 session even started. He proposed giving the CCEA and the Democrats the education funding they wanted without getting anything for the school choice supporters who helped him win the election.

Lombardo could have learned from his failures and spent the next two years funding and building up a coalition of parents. Winning major political battles takes time, money and infrastructure.

Instead, the governor appears to have decided he would rather have the CCEA’s political support, even if it means abandoning his past supporters and positions.

Lombardo did almost nothing to push school choice during the 2025 session. He has bragged about securing open enrollment. Here’s what will change in the Clark County School District as a result.

“CCSD will rebrand its ‘Change of School Assignment (COSA)’ process to be formally called ‘Open Enrollment,’ ” the district’s recap of its Oct. 9 board meeting stated. “While the name is different, the process will remain largely the same.”

Did you catch that? Lombardo’s big school choice “win” was renaming a program that already existed.

Lombardo handed the CCEA a much bigger victory. He signed a bill allowing teachers to strike at individual schools. Previously, teacher sickouts were illegal. That will give the union more leverage in future negotiations. That will likely prove costly to taxpayers without improving education. You can’t fix a broken system by dumping more money into it.

Consider what’s likely to happen next. The past two Nevada Republican governors who’ve won second terms have successfully proposed record tax hikes. Lombardo has pledged he won’t raise taxes but, as parents learned the hard way, he can’t be trusted.

Listen to Victor Joecks discuss his columns each Monday at noon with Kevin Wall on AM 670 KMZQ Right Talk. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.