蜜桃影视

There鈥檚 no state in the country quite like Nevada.

Over the past 25 years, the state鈥檚 population has doubled, growing four times as fast as the United States鈥檚 overall. Two of Nevada鈥檚 16 counties are home to 90 percent of its population. Though Clark County, home to greater Las Vegas, represents just 7 percent of Nevada鈥檚 land, it houses three-quarters of the state鈥檚 residents and two-thirds of its public school students. Since 1990, the student body of Clark County 鈥� the district is now the fifth-largest in the country.

Yet while the state鈥檚 population soared, the quantity and quality of its schools stagnated. In four of the past five years, Nevada ranked last in the country on Education Week鈥檚 index of states鈥� educational performance.

Nancy Brune, executive director of the Nevada-based, nonpartisan Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, told 蜜桃影视, 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 really prioritized education as a state for very long.鈥�

And yet, as the Silver State prepares to vote in the June 12 gubernatorial primaries, there is an inverse relationship between its schools鈥� recent results and its education leaders鈥� sky-high optimism.

That burgeoning confidence is largely the work of term-limited Gov. Brian Sandoval, a popular Republican who championed an unprecedented tax increase that鈥檚 led to signs of the school system鈥檚 turnaround. While local education leaders bemoan the dearth of seats in schools across the district, charter, and private sectors, and teachers are frustrated over average class sizes that rank as the , there is a sense that the schools are beginning to catch up with the extraordinary population growth that continues to reshape the state.

The question for voters is not whether Sandoval鈥檚 successor will continue to prioritize education, but how and by how much.

Two candidates with education experience are leading the Democratic primary. Steve Sisolak, 64, served on the聽state Board of Regents, which oversees the higher education system, for a decade. Chris Giunchigliani, 63, who , was a special education teacher for more than 30 years; she joins a national wave of , including in nearby Arizona and Colorado.

On the Republican side, state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, 39, is , including state Treasurer Dan Schwartz, 67. Though neither Laxalt nor Schwartz has as much education experience as the two Democrats, Laxalt successfully defended the constitutionality of the state鈥檚 school choice program 鈥� which Fordham Institute President Michael Petrilli called 鈥溾�� 鈥� and Schwartz wrote the regulations for it.

Education has taken on a prominent role in both parties鈥� primaries. If elected, Schwartz has vowed to 鈥�,鈥� while Sisolak has said until the schools are 鈥渢urned around.鈥�

The Landscape

The state鈥檚 population is increasingly diverse 鈥� Nevada has been called 鈥�.鈥� Whites make up , as they are . Hispanics make up 29 percent of state residents, blacks 10 percent, and Asian Americans 鈥� the 鈥� 9 percent. Students in Clark County schools .

As Nevadans are loath to hear repeated back to them, Nevada again ranks 51st, last in the country, including Washington, D.C., on Education Week鈥檚 2018 of educational performance. Its students鈥� . And the challenges start early: 鈥淒ue to limited funding,鈥� the state鈥檚 public preschool program 鈥渙nly serves 1.6 percent of the estimated 3- and 4-year-old population,鈥� .

As Schwartz, the long-shot candidate for the Republican nomination, , 鈥淥ur state is consistently at the top of every bad聽list, and the聽bottom聽of every good聽list聽in the country.鈥�

Or, as Sean Parker, the executive director of Teach for America鈥揕as Vegas Valley, told 蜜桃影视, 鈥淲hen you look at the map and at non-private schools, non-magnet schools, and non鈥揫career and technical education] schools, there are very few schools that are performing at the highest level in the state.鈥�

But in 2015, Sandoval signed the largest tax increase in Nevada鈥檚 151-year history, which raises more than $1.1 billion through for education initiatives focusing on English language learners, early literacy programs, and struggling schools. Although it鈥檚 too early to determine the success of these programs, local leaders say the substantial investment in schools represented a dramatic and helpful shift in mindset.

鈥淧eople think of Nevada and of Las Vegas as places of individual opportunity, and we鈥檙e really at this pivotal point of collective opportunity,鈥� Jana Wilcox Lavin, executive director of , a Las Vegas鈥揵ased nonprofit that advocates for more high-quality traditional district and charter schools, told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲e have a real opportunity to take advantage of.鈥�

By some measures, those opportunities are paying off. Nevada is now the fastest-improving state in , and, , is one of 鈥渙nly four states in which FAFSA completion rates both exceed the national completion rate and are higher in lower-income districts than in higher-income districts.鈥� Nevada is prioritizing growth, not proficiency. In fact, the focus of the state鈥檚 plan for complying with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which was the second in the country to be approved, is to make Nevada .

Don Soifer, president of the pro-choice group Nevada Action for School Options and a policy analyst who has read many states鈥� ESSA plans, told 蜜桃影视 that Nevada鈥檚 is 鈥渙ne of the more ambitious in the country.鈥�

But while policy is improving, politics are a mess. The Clark County School District, the state鈥檚 largest employer, just announced it has a and that layoffs are likely. The district, which earlier this month, is also taking on the Nevada Department of Education and the state legislature as they try to , as well as over an arbitrator鈥檚 ruling in favor of a pay raise.

To further complicate matters, the union voted last month .

Said Brune about where the state stands: 鈥淲e are probably at the nadir of trust in this environment.鈥�

The Schools and the Candidates

Most political analysts view the governor鈥檚 race . Nevada hasn鈥檛 had a Democratic governor since 1999, but former president Barack Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012, as did Hillary Clinton in 2016. Nevada is with a $20 million investment.

Sandoval often disregarded his party鈥檚 orthodoxy, , , and allowing 鈥�,鈥� according to the Nevada Independent. His heresies inspired Politico to label Sandoval 鈥�,鈥� but residents largely have cheered his actions 鈥� Sandoval is consistently ranked among the 10 .

In this year鈥檚 race, much of the focus on education has to do with funding. Most people believe the state鈥檚 50-year-old funding formula is antiquated and underfunded 鈥� Nevada ranks 鈥� but no one seems to have figured out how to pay for an updated version. Nevada has , according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, but advocates want more money for facilities. Last year, Sandoval for Opportunity Scholarships 鈥� a voucher-like program for low-income students 鈥� after legislators deadlocked on funding the more robust Education Savings Account program. But the scholarships have become popular, making it tough to phase them out when the current funding ends. As Soifer explained, 鈥淲hat you now have are happy families who have something and it鈥檚 going to be politically difficult聽to take that away.鈥�

And, there are the programs and increased funding created by Sandoval鈥檚 tax hikes. Much of that funding was earmarked for specific literacy or school improvement programs.

鈥淭hat was how they were able to convince the business community that it wouldn鈥檛 just be a billion dollars going into a black hole,鈥� said Brent Husson, founder and president of Nevada Succeeds, a business-backed education advocacy organization.

Laxalt, who was in a recent poll, has pledged to 鈥渢o continue to champion those programs鈥� started by Sandoval, though he has not committed to keeping the taxes that raise revenue for them in place, since 鈥渢he state is on track to bring in increased revenue,鈥� according to responses provided to 蜜桃影视 by Laxalt spokesperson Andy Matthews. Laxalt鈥檚 camp maintains that 鈥渨e will never go backward from our current levels of education spending.鈥�

Other parts of his education platform include a pledge to double the amount teachers can be reimbursed for classroom expenses and an endorsement of Education Savings Accounts. A recent poll found , with 38 percent against.

Laxalt is also trying to use his Democratic opponents鈥� education experience against them. In the statement to 蜜桃影视, Matthews said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic that career politicians Chris Giunchigliani and Steve Sisolak both tout themselves as education champions based on their long political careers and involvement in education, while at the same time complaining about how broken our education system 鈥� the one they鈥檝e been overseeing for decades 鈥� remains today.鈥�

(Laxalt also has an intriguing personal story: His father, Pete Domenici, was a U.S. senator who had an extramarital affair with Michelle Laxalt, daughter of fellow senator Paul Laxalt. None of this was .)

On the Democratic side, the discord between the statewide teachers union and the Clark County affiliate has extended to its gubernatorial endorsements. Although Giunchigliani served as the president of both the Clark County Education Association (1983鈥�87) and the Nevada State Education Association (1987鈥�91), she only , with instead and .

Neither union responded to multiple requests for comment.

On policy, there are few substantive differences between the two candidates, who both serve as Clark County commissioners, though Giunchigliani鈥檚 education plan was far more detailed (14 pages) than Sisolak鈥檚 (20 bullet points over two pages). Both praise Sandoval, and both prioritize increasing teacher salaries and decreasing class size. Both plans would require increased funding, which the candidates say they would find by redirecting revenue raised through hotel room and retail marijuana taxes. at a recent forum for supporting the state鈥檚 $750 million contribution to a football stadium being built in Las Vegas while education funding lagged.

Although in an April poll, Soifer said the wave of activism by teachers across the country could help the candidate widely referred to as Chris G.

鈥淩ight now, teachers are frustrated,鈥� Soifer said. 鈥淭here is one of their own in the race on the Democratic side. She’s behind in the published polls and is working aggressively to harness that teacher energy to build momentum for her campaign.鈥�

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