Nevada lawmakers may have close to a quarter-billion dollars in surplus funds after making cuts to Governor Steve Sisolak’s proposed $8.8 billion budget.
The Nevada Independent reports that the surplus money is a result of large cuts to health care, higher education, and school safety budgets by lawmakers on legislative budget committees.
Republican lawmakers say the funds could be a solution to the challenge of funding a promised 3 percent pay raise and 2 percent merit pay increase for Nevada teachers.
The money could also represent an opportunity to follow through on a proposed decrease of the modified business, or payroll tax which would cost about $100 million.
The Clark County School District has omitted Governor Sisolak’s promised teacher raises from the district budget, saying CCSD needs an extra $240 million in the coming biennium beyond what’s in the governor’s budget.