CARSON CITY (KTNV) — The 80th Nevada Legislative session has officially started and lawmakers are already making history and setting the tone for the future of education funding in the Silver State.
For the first time ever, Nevada voters sent a female majority to represent them at the legislature.
Speeches by lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, indicate education is the priority.
"If you think of education funding as a pie, it's not about the size of the pie, it's how you divide the pie up," said State Senator Mo Denis.
Senator Denis said a weighted formula for education spending is a solution to update the "Nevada Plan" which was created more than 50 years to go evenly spread education money around the state.
"When you're talking about helping individual students to achieve, you've got to be able to provide what that's student needs," said Senator Denis.
The weighted formula would increase funding for specific students including those learning English, in poverty, or have special needs.
"I'm really hopeful that he will get this done," said parent Rebecca Colbert.
Colbert's two children are in the Clark County School District and she says class sizes are causing problems.
"I'm just as mad this year, he's a seventh grader and five of his six classes have 45 kids in them and these are advanced classes," said Colbert.
In the previous legislative session, education funding totaled $4 Billion.
