Nevada Plan Hopeful About Retirement in 2019

After more than 50 years on the job, the Nevada Plan, the state’s education funding formula, announced it is ready to retire.
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“At first, my job was fun and I was doing great helping all students, but now I’m just the oldest education funding formula around. I can’t keep up with all those other younger and more modern formulas in other states and it shows,” the Nevada Plan said. “I mean, I was hired the same year Elvis got married, and 40 years later he had a life-tribute Cirque du Soleil show on The Strip — and even that retired.”

Starting back in 1967, the Nevada Plan remembers the time when Nevada was much smaller and looked very different. “Back then, schools didn’t have much in the way of standards, assessments, and all that.  It was just about just getting kids into their seats,” the Nevada Plan noted, “Nowadays, folks are a lot more particular about what goes on in the classroom. It’s hard for me to keep up.”

"I love my job and my students, but I can't afford to care for them all anymore — there are so many more students now than when I started! There are more demands on me and I'm stretched so thin. I have to be selective about who I can care for, and that's just not right," the Nevada Plan added.

Nevada is currently ranked among the worst-funded states for education in the country. Coincidentally, in its 50-plus years on the job, the Nevada Plan was routinely overlooked or skipped over for raises and cost of living adjustments.

"Being 48th worst-funded in the nation makes me feel like my work is not valued and neither is educating Nevada's students. I have been struggling to make ends meet for the longest time. How am I supposed to care for 420,000 students? I'm not built for that."

Some legislators aren't eager for the Nevada Plan to retire because they know bringing in a New Plan would mean having to meet current national standards and would require a significant financial investment.

"I'm ready for retirement," the Nevada Plan said. "I can pack up my Beatles 8-track tapes, collect my calculator, slide ruler and ledger pads, and be on my way. The students would do better with a fresh, new plan that considers all of their diverse needs and the current costs of education. I'm not doing them any good here."

Editor's Note: Created in 1967, the Nevada Plan is the oldest funding formula in the country. Many states have modernized their formula several times in the last couple of decades. The Nevada Plan is outdated and doesn’t account for the actual cost of educating students. As a result of its funding mechanisms, new funds intended to supplement education are supplanted instead and don't necessarily increase education funding.. Fund Our Future Nevada is calling on Legislators to retire the Nevada Plan and replace it with a new plan that properly accounts for changing demographics, population growth, and unique needs of students to prepare them to college and career ready upon graduation.

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