蜜桃影视

Correction appended October 29

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After years of bottom-of-the-barrel education rankings, Nevada lawmakers adopted a number of reforms in 2015, including increased funding for low-income students and English language learners, universal education savings accounts, and the creation of a statewide district to take over failing schools.

Those reforms were undertaken at a time when Republicans controlled the state Assembly, Senate, and governor鈥檚 mansion. Now, ahead of elections that could see Democrats take universal control, several of those changes could be on the chopping block.

鈥淸In] 2019, with the opportunity for the Democrats to take control of the Assembly, the Senate, and potentially gain control of the governor鈥檚 office, we could start to see repeals of some of those large Republican programs introduced in 2015,鈥� Brad Marianno, an assistant education professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told 蜜桃影视.

After two years of a polarizing Trump presidency, the political winds across the country, and in Nevada especially, .

In 2016, Democrats won elections for president and the U.S. Senate in Nevada and re-took control of both chambers of the legislature. They鈥檙e expected to easily maintain their majority in the Assembly, which they currently hold 27-14, with one vacancy.

This year, after two decades with Republicans in the governor鈥檚 mansion, the gubernatorial contest is essentially a dead heat.

That leaves the state Senate, currently 11-8 Democratic with two vacancies, as perhaps Republicans鈥� best hope 鈥� albeit a distant one 鈥� of blocking a Democratic trifecta.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty unlikely that the Republicans will get majority control of either chamber, but if they do, it will be in the Senate,鈥� said David Damore, chair of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The marquee races in the state, for U.S. Senate and governor, have attracted high-profile visits from President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama. Those contests will have a big impact on the smaller races down-ballot, Damore added.

Meanwhile, the legacy of the 2015 reforms continues to play a large role in this year鈥檚 governor鈥檚 race.

Democrat Steve Sisolak saying incumbent Republican governor Brian Sandoval 鈥渄id the right thing鈥� by raising taxes in 2015 to aid education and criticizing his GOP opponent鈥檚 support of education savings accounts.

That opponent, Attorney General Adam Laxalt, wants to repeal one of the 2015 tax increases, but he pledged not to cut school funding. He also聽, including education savings accounts, which he defended in court, and Sandoval鈥檚 other reforms. Sandoval hasn鈥檛 endorsed anyone in the contest.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 all Democrats, there鈥檚 no way that stuff鈥檚 going anywhere,鈥� Damore said of the education savings accounts and other choice programs.

As the parties battle for control of the legislature, three state Senate seats are in play, based on thin margins in party registrations, . Republicans, who held all three of the seats, on the outskirts of Las Vegas, as of the 2016 elections, must win all three, plus pick off another seat from the Democrats, to regain control of the chamber. In all races, Democratic registration edges out Republicans, in some cases very narrowly, with a relatively high percentage of independent voters.

鈼徛�District 8: Patricia Farley switched her registration from Republican to independent and began caucusing with Democrats just after the November 2016 elections. After being targeted in a failed recall effort, Farley announced she isn鈥檛 running for re-election, citing the need to care for nieces and nephews in foster care.

The race to fill her seat is between Republican Valerie Weber and Democrat Marilyn Dondero Loop. Both previously served in the state Assembly; Weber is currently a professor of business, and Dondero Loop previously worked as an elementary school teacher and is now an education consultant.

鈼徛�District 9: Republican Becky Harris resigned in January to chair the state鈥檚 gaming board. In the race to replace her, Republican Tiffany Jones, a bakery owner, faces Democrat Melanie Scheible, an assistant district attorney.

鈼徛�District 20: Republican Michael Roberson, who served as majority leader when the GOP controlled the chamber, is running for lieutenant governor. The race to replace him is between Democrat Julie Pazina, sales director for a utility contractor, and Republican Keith Pickard, a member of the state assembly, attorney, and former teacher. Libertarian Rick Bronstein is also on the ballot.

鈥楾hat idea will just continue to sit there鈥�

One of the state鈥檚 most notable school reforms was the creation of universal education savings accounts. The mechanism, which allows parents to use public funds for private school tuition, tutoring, and other educational services, was first offered to specific groups of students in Arizona in 2011. Nevada was the first state to consider offering it to all children.

Advocates sued to stop the program as soon as it was approved, and the state鈥檚 high court ruled that although it was permitted under the state constitution, lawmakers couldn鈥檛 use the general K-12 funding account to pay for it. Thousands of students applied, but none ever received funding.

When the legislature reconvened in 2017, newly-in-control Democratic lawmakers refused to approve another funding source, choosing instead to increase the cap on the state鈥檚 choice scholarship program. That program is funded through tax credits, only funds private school tuition, and has caps on family income.

Democrats are unlikely to push for a new funding mechanism for the education savings accounts if they continue in the majority, experts said.

鈥淚 think they will continue to hold firm鈥� on not funding education savings accounts, Marianno said. 鈥淭hat idea just will continue to sit there.鈥�

Also limited in scope was the state鈥檚 achievement school district program, under which state-selected charter operators may take over underperforming schools or set up shop next to them, up to six a year.

The state鈥檚 original chosen operator, Celerity, was scuttled after federal agents raided its Los Angeles office amid allegations of fraud and misuse of public funds. So instead of a charter takeover of underperforming schools, the achievement school district opened in fall 2017 with one existing charter school run by a new operator, and one new charter located next to an underperforming elementary school.

New charter operators were selected, one for each grade span, and each opted to open near an underperforming school rather than take it over. The elementary and middle schools opened this school year, and the high school will open in fall 2019.

鈥淭he law鈥檚 still on the books, but I don鈥檛 know what it is actually accomplishing at the moment,鈥� said Brent Husson, president of Nevada Succeeds, an education reform group.

Democrats introduced measures to repeal the achievement school district in the 2017 session 鈥� legislation that went nowhere under Sandoval, the Republican governor. But such a proposal to repeal the achievement district could have more legs under universal Democratic control, Marianno said.

Regardless of which party takes control of the legislature, one likely item on lawmakers鈥� agenda is an update to the school funding formula, which is 50 years old. Changes made in the last session only affect funding until 2019, Marianno said.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen both gubernatorial candidates and some lawmakers articulate the need to update that plan. Now that will look differently, depending on who gains control of the governor鈥檚 office and the Senate,鈥� he added.

Correction: In Nevada鈥檚 District 9 state senate race, Republican Tiffany Jones is facing Democrat Melanie Scheible. Information was corrected from an earlier version of the story.

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