LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada Republicans are clashing with Democrats over an education budget that Republicans say doesn't include equal pay for charter school teachers.
Gov. Joe Lombardo has threatened to veto any budget that "does not include equal pay for public charter school teachers and make teacher pay raises, including those for charter school teachers, permanent."
Lombardo made his position clear in a statement posted to his X account on Thursday that reads in part, "All 63 legislators have been aware of my position for months, and it is my expectation that they will pass a bill that improves education for all Nevada children."
My full statement on Democrats rejecting charter school teacher pay raises below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/maYw8f9TTa
— Governor Joe Lombardo (@JosephMLombardo) May 8, 2025
Several Republican lawmakers voted against the education budget, citing concerns over funding allocations for charter school teachers.
"I just cannot accept the fact that we are not giving the charter school teachers, who are public employees, the raises I feel they deserve, as all teachers do," state Sen. Robin Titus said.
Democratic lawmakers argue the issue is being addressed, but they have concerns about "transparency and accountability," according to a joint statement issued by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager.
"As we have stated multiple times, pay raises for educators must come with transparency and accountability, and we won't give in to demands to exempt charter schools from the same oversight that we've previously required from traditional public schools," Cannizzaro and Yeager wrote.
Republicans are playing politics with our children's future. They just voted against $11.4 billion in education funding for teacher pay, charter schools, special education, and more. @Nicole4Nevada and @SteveYeagerNV statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ow9Q3I9qN6
— NV Senate Democrats (@NVSenateDems) May 9, 2025
Both lawmakers thanked their Republican colleagues who voted to advance the budget "while we work towards a solution specific to charter schools."
Channel 13 also reached out to the Nevada State Education Association, which represents teachers across the state, for its take on the issue. In an email, union representatives stated in part, "Governor Lombardo ignored the Commission on School Funding's plan to fully fund education.
Union leaders claim Lombardo is "offering an increase of just $2 per pupil next year," which they say "won't keep up with inflation."
The Nevada Constitution requires education to be funded first in the state budget, and lawmakers have 30 days left until the end of the legislative session to resolve their funding dispute.
