SB26 Testimony

Testimony in Support re: Senate Bill 26 – Senate Government Affairs Committee
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
6:30pm

My name is Daniel Honchariw. I represent the Nevada Policy Research Institute as its senior policy analyst and registered lobbyist.

NPRI supports SB26 because it represents a step in the right direction. However, we do not believe this bill goes far enough. Exempting a mere 8.3% of the ending-fund-balance from consideration in the arbitration process is certainly better than exempting nothing, but it virtually guarantees more financial hardship in the years ahead for school districts who seem always to be dealing with “budget cuts” following collective-bargaining negotiations.

That fact notwithstanding, this bill will marginally benefit the financial health of school districts and deserves to be supported. Better policy, however, would exempt at least 25% of a school district’s ending-fund-balance from consideration during the arbitration process.