VICTOR JOECKS: Lombardo must learn from past mistakes
Democrats want some public school teachers to be more equal than others. Gov. Joe Lombardo insists that’s not going to happen.
Last week, legislative Democrats stripped funding for charter school teacher raises from Nevada’s tentative budget. They left untouched the raises for teachers in traditional public schools. Lombardo wants raises for both groups. The charter raises would cost $38 million, while the traditional public school raises would cost around $250 million. In 2023, Democrats excluded charter school teachers from this pot of funding.
Lombardo isn’t having it.
“I will not sign an education budget that does not include equal pay for public charter school teachers and make teacher pay raises, including those for charter school teachers, permanent,” he said. “Further, I will veto any education budget bill that falls short of addressing a serious need for accountability, transparency and real parental choice.”
Democrats have hefty majorities in both houses, but they can’t override Lombardo’s veto without Republican help. That’s unlikely. Every Republican on this subcommittee voted against this move.
This is a good political issue, and there’s a natural constituency to support him. Lombardo’s team should work with charter school leaders to tell charter parents what Democrats are doing — attempting to cripple charter campuses.
But even though Lombardo has leverage, he must be willing to use it fully. Two years ago, he wasn’t.
“I will not sign any budget bills until my priorities are addressed. Period,” Lombardo said in a May 25, 2023, statement. He then dared Democrats to “test my resolve.”
Democrats did, and Lombardo largely capitulated. Opportunity Scholarships weren’t expanded. His crime bill was gutted. His bill to suspend the gasoline tax didn’t even receive a hearing.
It gets worse. In 2023, Senate Republicans voted against the capital improvement projects budget, which needed two-thirds support. They were attempting to force Democrats to include funding for charter school teacher pay raises. Sound familiar?
Lombardo undercut them. He called a special session but put only the capital improvement projects budget on the agenda. Under pressure from Lombardo, former state Sen. Scott Hammond then switched his vote to pass the measure
Put all the pieces together. Legislative Democrats likely think they can roll Lombardo because that’s what they did in 2023 in an almost identical scenario.
But Lombardo holds a winning hand — if he’s willing to play hardball. Veto every bill that lists Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro or Speaker Steve Yeager as a sponsor. Veto every bill that didn’t receive support from Republican majorities in both houses. Tell leftist lobbyists and their clients that their bills are toast if Democrats don’t compromise.
Most importantly, Lombardo must be willing to keep legislators in Carson City for months and then wage an aggressive PR campaign against Democrats. An extended special session would be brutal for legislators who expected to return home to their families and personal lives. But it wouldn’t change much personally for the governor.
If Lombardo wants this legislative session to end differently than the last one, he must learn from his mistakes.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.