Education

I spent 10 years in CCSD schools. I am a proud UNLV Rebel. I am also a product of a family of public school educators and now, myself, a substitute for the school district. I have skin in the game, and I want to see our state’s public schools succeed. 

Rebels make it happen!

Studying at UNLV was one of the most impactful experiences of my life. I want to help more Nevadans to access our state’s public universities, so they can experience it too.

Shadow Ridge High School Freshman Orientation - 2014

Go Mustangs! My family has deep connections to Shadow, one of the two high schools in district 1. All of my siblings are alums, and my father taught here for many years.

Policy Priorities:

• Properly fund our schools: NSHE public universities and Nevada’s k-12 schools don’t get the funding they need, and our students pay the price. For NSHE, that’s literal. This January, the board of regents approved a 12% tuition hike over the next three years. In our k-12 schools, Nevada ranks 44th in K-12 education funding and 47th in spending per pupil. 

• Legalize a State Lottery as a funding apparatus to expand the Nevada Promise Scholarship into a true universal community college program: Nevada has a revenue problem. If we want to properly fund programs like the Nevada Promise Scholarship, let alone expand them like I believe we should, then we need to find the money. I think the legalization of a state lottery is one of our strongest options. 

• According to the Board of Regent’s most recent report on the Nevada Promise Scholarship (NPS), the funding for the biennial allocation for the program was not sufficient to cover all the registration and maintenance fees for all eligible students, and our community colleges had to work to cover the difference. This information can be found at the bottom of page nine of the Board of Regents NPS Report. Thus, there is already a need for more revenue, even before we try to expand the scope of the program like I believe we should. 

• This funding could go beyond first-time students. I think another logical expansion would be to include access to community college programs for the purposes of job-retraining to address unemployment (even for those who previously have degrees). 

• Once passed, we need to make sure that these funds are distributed equitably, meaning that they are helping ALL students. I propose that excess funds from lottery revenue be earmarked to hire school counselors or support college-access programs like TRIO, so we can help ensure that low-income, rural, and other historically disadvantaged students are applying and enrolling in college.

• A Republican state, Tennessee, is the national model for the promise scholarship. They provide funding for older first-time students too while Nevada only allows high school seniors to apply for this funding right now. 

• Teachers Union:  Unions can win even when politicians fail. If we want to build better outcomes for our school districts, we should start by empowering our teachers unions. 

• Legalize striking for teachers: While the teachers were able to successfully lobby Governor Lombardo to sign SB 161 into law– which carved out new protections for educators from being charged with illegal striking for certain pickets/demonstrations as well as expedited the contract negotiation timeline–this cannot be the end of the fight. We must continue to expand the power of the union to fight on behalf of teachers. 

• See Labor Rights and Unions for more info 

• Fight for a Student/Faculty Regent: Create a seat with full voting powers on the board of Regents for students and faculty. This would be an innovative project that completely transforms school governance, and it is desperately needed. There have been regents that have never even attended college, yet the community they govern have no representation on the board. The legislature recently changed the number of seats on the board, and I propose to do it again for this purpose. 
  

• Student Representation on the School Board of Trustees: Students need to be a part of the conversation, at least in an advisory capacity. We need to formalize student participation in our school boards and develop a pipeline of leadership for our student leaders to climb. 

• Protect Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs: Diversity isn’t a choice; it’s a reality of our k-12 districts and NSHE universities. In fact, UNLV has been ranked 1st by US News and World Report for the Most Diverse Campus. If we want our students to succeed, we need to tailor institutional support to their needs. It’s that simple! DEI programs don’t exist to favor any group over another. They exist to ensure success for students who may need extra support! Additionally, these programs offer services to a wide-range of communities including first-generation college students of all backgrounds and students from rural communities.

• From the 83rd Legislative Session →AB 268:This bill, sponsored by assembly member Jauregi, would provide free, universal school lunch in k-12 schools. A universal program ensures that no child falls through the cracks, including children from mixed-status immigrant families who may avoid other means-tested programs out of fear.