New schools are popping up in Las Vegas, while they are seldom seen in rural counties across Nevada — especially in towns with fewer than 1,000 residents that are on tribal land. That's due to how schools are funded in the state.
The northern Nevada town of Owyhee is on the Duck Valley Reservation in Elko County. It has a combined school that’s more than 70 years old and in deep disrepair. Aside from the school sitting on contaminated land, students and faculty must worry about bat droppings falling from the ceiling when it rains, as a bat colony live in the rafters.
“Many, many days out of the year, kids are sent home because it's too cold,” says Brian Mason, tribal chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation.
Although property tax funds provide sufficient funding to build schools in metro areas, such as Las Vegas, rural towns struggle to collect enough funding to maintain their schools.
Two years ago, Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a law appropriating $64.5 million for the construction of a new school in Owyhee. But that funding only covered the construction of the main building. The law also called for an added property tax on Elko County to fund the rest of the school, with state matched funding.
Elko County sued and won a lawsuit over the proposed property tax, which put the new Owyhee school in jeopardy. So, Mason and Asm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-Las Vegas) knew they’d be back in the legislature this year to rework the law. Their latest effort is aimed at getting the school the remaining funds that it needs to complete construction.
Assembly Bill 355 proposes to clean up the law through an amendment to the bill that allows tribes to donate to the Owyhee school fund. A state match would then provide additional funds to finish the school.
“This is a rural Nevada problem,” Mason says, noting that, if passed, the legislation could potentially apply to other rural schools that lack funding. “This is all over the state.”
Guests: Brian Mason, tribal chairman, Duck Valley Indian Reservation; Asm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-Las Vegas), chair, Ways and Means Committee
