EDITORIAL: Sisolak, Nevada Dems should look in mirror regarding school funding

Lest there be any doubt where he stands, Gov. Steve Sisolak raised the union banner on Friday and assigned blame for a possible teacher strike on the Clark County School District. He accused district officials of failing to properly budget for teacher raises, calling it “astounding.” School district leaders, the governor said, “created this mess. And they have to fix it.”

Who’s buying the bull he’s slinging? Yes, the school district’s many problems — administratively, financially and academically — are deep and well-documented. Yes, district officials seem to routinely adjust and readjust budget numbers, creating confusion and uncertainty. Yes, the relationship between the district and the state has been tenuous at times. But nobody at the Ed Shed has the power to allocate state resources or set tax rates. That’s the job of elected officials in Carson City, no matter how much Gov. Sisolak muddies the waters.

The scenario now playing out — members of the Clark County Education Association have threatened an illegal walkout on Sept. 10 — is simply the latest culmination of a decadeslong dance in which state Democrats, including Gov. Sisolak, try to have it both ways on schools.

Democrats have enjoyed legislative advantages in one or both houses for the better part of half a century. Every two years, a tired theme emerges: Democrats hit the hustings to assure voters and their education union benefactors that their No. 1 priority is to spend more money on the state’s public schools. But history proves such promises to be empty rhetoric. In reality, state Democrats have long been terrified to do the heavy lifting required to make the case for massive tax hikes that might alienate a significant number of Nevada voters.

This unbridled cynicism was on display in 2017. Just four years ago, a Republican governor signed the largest tax hike in state history — a $1.5 billion package to boost education spending — after the proposal passed a GOP-dominated Legislature. Two years later, Democrats shamelessly exploited the vote to attack Republican incumbents for reneging on a tax restraint pledge.

As Gov. Sisolak disingenuously scolds the district, let’s remember that he and majority Democrats had ample opportunity during the 2019 session to raise taxes or create more revenue streams for the public schools. They chose, instead, to follow the familiar script.

The plan now is apparently to protect Gov. Sisolak and Democratic lawmakers by holding off on huge tax hikes until 2023 under a lame-duck administration and a gerrymandered Legislature. A cynic might suggest that those involved in the current dispute have intentionally set this fire in order to erode opposition to future tax increases.

The idea that opening the taxpayer spigot will solve the state’s education issues is questionable, at best. But as long as Democrats lack the courage of their convictions, they should stop pointing fingers.