By Brian Reeder, AGC Government Affairs Coordinator
School is back in session in a few short weeks, and several schools are well beyond capacity. Brown Elementary is at about 108 percent, Trainer Middle School at 112 percent and Galena and Spanish Springs High Schools are at about 104 percent. Many more schools hover around 95-100 percent. There are enough students throughout the district to fill at least five extra schools right now.
The schools can’t take any more students, but the valley is growing. At the Northern Nevada Housing Summit on July 8, builders and developers were encouraged to start building new homes. Mike Kazmierski, President and CEO of EDAWN, described the situation as a “housing crises.” The population is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, which will place an even greater strain on our bursting-at-the-seams schools. Washoe County needs about 15 new schools to keep up with growth. New construction can range from about $25 million for elementary schools to $85 million for high schools.
While not a dime of the new tax revenue will pay for school construction, the legislature did authorize the school districts to bond for construction without voter approval. Since Washoe County currently lacks capacity to bond, that will only provide about $20 million in relief per year – barely a band aid and not nearly enough to build any new schools.
To make matters worse, capacity is not the only problem. There’s more than $244 million in critical maintenance that Washoe County needs to address immediately. More than $100 million of that is classified as “Expired and Unserviceable.” The district needs to spend $25 million per year just to keep up with basic maintenance,
$5 million more than bonding will provide.
This is not a new problem. AGC members had a chance to explore some of the failing infrastructure in 2013. AGC members with expertise in school construction led county commissioners through several schools to help illustrate how bad conditions really were.
The outlook in Clark County isn’t as bad. They face challenging overcrowding issues but extending the rollover bonds will generate about $3.6 billion over the next 10 years in Clark County, $850 million immediately. This allows them to break ground on 12 new schools that will open in 2017 and 2018.
While the present situation is grim, it’s not all doom and gloom for Washoe County. SB411 authorized the school board to create the Public Schools Overcrowding and Repair Needs Committee. The committee, which will be made up of elected officials and business sector representatives, will explore and recommend potential tax increases to fund school construction. Recommendations could include increases to the governmental services tax, gross receipts on rentals or motels, sales and use taxes and property taxes. The committee must make their recommendations by April 2, 2016 so that a question can be placed on the ballot in November.
Funding education was a top priority in 2015, but don’t confuse that with funding for school construction. Washoe County remains in bad shape. It’s never a great feeling to have to put all your faith in a ballot question, but that seems to be the best option. If we do nothing, the schools will fall apart and the temporary classrooms will become permanent fixtures on our school campuses. Some of them have already been here for decades!
While not a dime of the new tax revenue will pay for school construction, the legislature did authorize the school districts to bond for construction without voter approval. Since Washoe County currently lacks capacity to bond, that will only provide about $20 million in relief per year – barely a band aid and not nearly enough to build any new schools.
To make matters worse, capacity is not the only problem. There’s more than $244 million in critical maintenance that Washoe County needs to address immediately. More than $100 million of that is classified as “Expired and Unserviceable.” The district needs to spend $25 million per year just to keep up with basic maintenance,
$5 million more than bonding will provide.
This is not a new problem. AGC members had a chance to explore some of the failing infrastructure in 2013. AGC members with expertise in school construction led county commissioners through several schools to help illustrate how bad conditions really were.
The outlook in Clark County isn’t as bad. They face challenging overcrowding issues but extending the rollover bonds will generate about $3.6 billion over the next 10 years in Clark County, $850 million immediately. This allows them to break ground on 12 new schools that will open in 2017 and 2018.
While the present situation is grim, it’s not all doom and gloom for Washoe County. SB411 authorized the school board to create the Public Schools Overcrowding and Repair Needs Committee. The committee, which will be made up of elected officials and business sector representatives, will explore and recommend potential tax increases to fund school construction. Recommendations could include increases to the governmental services tax, gross receipts on rentals or motels, sales and use taxes and property taxes. The committee must make their recommendations by April 2, 2016 so that a question can be placed on the ballot in November.
Funding education was a top priority in 2015, but don’t confuse that with funding for school construction. Washoe County remains in bad shape. It’s never a great feeling to have to put all your faith in a ballot question, but that seems to be the best option. If we do nothing, the schools will fall apart and the temporary classrooms will become permanent fixtures on our school campuses. Some of them have already been here for decades!