There is no fiscal solution for education
Everyone agrees that Nevada's education system is a mess. What we don't agree on is how to fix it. One side claims (and always will) that the system doesn't work unless we give it more money.
But at some point Nevadans will have to ask,"how much is enough?" As you can see from the charts below, Nevada has increased education spending considerably. Where are the results?
The total operating budgets from all districts have increased over 45 percent since 2001. Don't think population growth is the only reason for budget growth - education expenditures outstrip both inflation and population growth combined.
Spending per-pupil grew 15.2 percent between 1998 and 2007. The tax increases in 2003 produced a rapid rise in education expenditures.
This final graph shows that Nevada's per-pupil spending has increased 180 percent since 1959. That means we've nearly tripled education expenditures PER PUPIL. That growth rate is so large that if Nevada had ONLY DOUBLED per-pupil expenditures, we wouldn't have a budget shortfall today!
Spending more money on education only funds the failed status quo. Fixing education is going to require some serious reform. Why not try to be more like Florida? Read NPRI's full report on Florida's education reforms here.
