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Nevada Community-Based School Districts Initiative (2024)
| Nevada Community-Based School Districts Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Education | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Nevada Community-Based School Districts Initiative (#S-01-2022 ) was not on the ballot in Nevada as an indirect initiated state statute on November 5, 2024.
The initiative would have authorized municipalities to opt out of county-based school districts to form community-based school districts. The community-based districts would have needed to be consistent with municipal political subdivisions. As of 2022, Nevada has operated with county-based school districts since at least 1956.[1][2]
Measure design
Click on the arrows (▼) below for summaries of the different provisions of the constitutional amendment.
Community school district: Right to the formation of a community school district
The measure would have provided for each town or municipality that has its own governing body the right to opt out of its respective county school district and the right to form a new community school district.[1]
This measure defined a community school district as a school system governing body within the boundaries of the town, city, or municipality.[1]
Formation: Procedure for the formation of the community school district
Under this measure, a community school district would have been formed when the governing body of the town or municipality votes to approve a resolution or ordinance subject to the referendum power of the voters, or if the issue is put before voters of the town or municipality. The measure provided for the state and local government to recognize any newly formed community school district.[1]
Under this measure, the governing body of the municipality or newly formed community school district would have coordinated with the Nevada State Board of Education for the formation of the new community school district. The Nevada State Board of Education would have also formulated regulations to maintain and support the newly formed community school district.[1]
Under this measure, the Nevada State Board of Education would have provided a newly formed community school district the same treatment, rights, and powers as a county school district.[1]
School year: When the school year of the newly formed community school district may commence
Under this measure, the school year of the community school district would have commenced within 24 months following the general election where it was approved by voters.[1]
Funding: Rights to funding and existing contracts of the newly formed community school district
This measure would have provided that any newly formed community school district will have all rights over existing funding, properties, contracts for goods and services, and contracts for employment. The community school district would have had the right to a contract for the purchase of goods or services, either alone or with the collective purchasing power of the county school district, or with the collective purchasing power of any other community school district.[1]
Under this measure, the community school district would have retained all funding previously allocated to it in the 24 months prior to the general election when the community school district was approved, and until the commencement date. The county school district funds would have had to been adjusted to comply with this.[1]
Powers: Equality of rights and powers of community school districts
Under this measure, the rights and powers of the community school district, and the new community school district Board of Trustees, would have been equal to the powers of the county school district.[1]
Athletics and extracurricular activities: Allowing for community school districts to participate in athletics and extracurricular activities
Under this measure, the community school district would have been authorized to allow its schools to participate in competitive events, as well as Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association activities. This included events in athletics, arts, music, and all other inter-school competitions and events. Under this measure, the community school district may have been able to participate in these events alone, or in coordination with the county school district or another community school district with the agreement of the school boards.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot initiative is below:[1]
Support
Community Schools Initiative PAC sponsored the initiative.[2]
Supporters
Organizations
- Boulder City Chamber of Commerce
- Henderson Chamber of Commerce
- Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Latin Chamber of Commerce
- Urban Chamber of Commerce
- Vegas Chamber
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Organizations
Arguments
Campaign finance
Community Schools Initiative was the PAC registered to support this measure. The committee reported $647,000 in contributions and $401,807 in expenditures.[3]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $638,500.00 | $8,500.00 | $647,000.00 | $393,307.09 | $401,807.09 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $638,500.00 | $8,500.00 | $647,000.00 | $393,307.09 | $401,807.09 |
Support
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.[3]
| Committees in support of Nevada Community-Based School Districts Initiative (2024) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Community Schools Initiative | $638,500.00 | $8,500.00 | $647,000.00 | $393,307.09 | $401,807.09 |
| Total | $638,500.00 | $8,500.00 | $647,000.00 | $393,307.09 | $401,807.09 |
Donors
The following were the top donors who contributed to the support committees.[3]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lex Tecnica Ltd. | $270,000.00 | $0.00 | $270,000.00 |
| KEB LLC | $100,000.00 | $0.00 | $100,000.00 |
| LLV Marketing | $100,000.00 | $0.00 | $100,000.00 |
| Daniel Brasov | $54,000.00 | $0.00 | $54,000.00 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Background
Nevada school districts
- See also: Public education in Nevada
As of 2022, Nevada divided its public school districts by county. In 1956, the Nevada State Legislature consolidated the state’s school districts into 17 county-wide school districts.[4] As of 2022, Nevada had 447,603 students enrolled in a total of 668 public schools schools in 20 school districts.
Clark County School District
As of 2022, the Clark County School District, which included Las Vegas, was the largest school district in Nevada and the fifth-largest school district in the country, serving more than 300,000 students.[4] A co-chair of the Community Schools Initiative, Annalise Caster, said that the size of the district made it difficult for that district to perform well. “While there are other school districts that are big that have been able to perform well, that does not work for our community,” she said.[4]
After the Community Schools Initiative filed signatures, the Clark County School District responded by saying that breaking up the Clark County School District would not resolve issues. “Should communities choose to secede from the Clark County School District, they will increase taxpayer costs by expanding government bureaucracies. Dismantling the economies of scale achieved by CCSD will raise the costs of educating all children and further exacerbate the inequities impacting our neediest children and violate their rights,” said Dr. Jesus Jara, superintendent of the Clark County School District, in a statement.[5]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Nevada, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast in the most recent general election. Moreover, signature gathering must be distributed equally among each of the state's four congressional districts. The initial filing of an initiated state statute cannot be made before January 1 of the year preceding the next regular legislative session. Signature petitions must be filed with county officials by the second Tuesday in November of an even-numbered year—two years prior to the targeted election date. The final submission of signatures to the secretary of state must be made at least 30 days prior to the start of the next regular legislative session.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 140,777 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures to county clerks was November 23, 2022.
Signatures are verified by county clerks using a random sampling method if more than 500 signatures were submitted in that county. If enough signatures are submitted and verified, the initiative goes before the legislature. If the legislature approves and the governor signs the measure, there is no election. Otherwise, the initiative goes on the next general election ballot.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Dan H. Stewart, Annalise Castor, and Bob Sweetin on January 11, 2022.[2]
- Sponsors filed about 220,000 signatures to Nevada counties, which had until December 23, 2022, to certify the signatures.[6]
- On December 23, 2022, it was announced that the sponsors did not submit enough valid signatures.[7]
Community Schools Initiative v. Vanguard Field Strategies, LLC
This article contains a developing news story. Ballotpedia staff are checking for updates regularly. To inform us of new developments, email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Did Vanguard Field Strategies, LLC breach their contract, and engage in fraud and deceptive trade practices? | |
| Court: US District Court for the District of Nevada | |
| Plaintiff(s): Community Schools Initiative | Defendant(s): Vanguard Field Strategies, LLC |
Source: Justia Dockets and Filings
On January 12, 2023, the Community Schools Initiative filed a lawsuit against Vanguard Field Strategies, LLC, the Texas-based signature gathering company that was hired to gather signatures for the initiative. The lawsuit said that many of the signatures collected were forged: some of the forged used the correct first and last name but used obscenities as the middle name, and some signatures were from out of state.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Nevada Secretary of State's Office, "Full text," accessed January 14, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nevada Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed January 14, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nevada Secretary of State, "Community Schools Initiative, PACAD," accessed December 13, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Las Vegas Sun, "Initiative supporters say Nevada has outgrown its county-based school districts," April 24, 2022
- ↑ Clark County School District Newsroom, "Statement from CCSD Superintendent DR. Jesus F. Jara," accessed December 13, 2022
- ↑ The Nevada Independent, "Group submits signatures as part of petition to allow municipalities to opt out of school districts," accessed November 24, 2022
- ↑ The Las Vegas Review Journal, "School breakup initiative fails to qualify for Legislature," December 23, 2022
- ↑ News 3 LV, "Group trying to break up CCSD & other districts sues signature gathering company," January 19, 2023
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