Assembly Bill 224 was recently proposed, which could allow the State of Nevada to invest $100M in repairs/replacements to rural public-school buildings.
The bill, if passed, would allow the State to sell up to $100M in bonds and delegate the funds to counties with populations of fewer than 15,000. Many of the rural counties do not have the funds to pay for school upkeep due to their small populations and limited economies.
Money from the bond would be directed toward the Fund to Assist School Districts in Financing Capital Improvements. The fund was created in 1999 to aid districts at their tax limits to repair schools. The fund has been depleted for approximately two decades. At the time of its passing, the bond was a bipartisan effort.
White Pine County is an example of a district that does not have enough money to maintain/replace crumbling schools. Ely is the only incorporated town in the county, and both its middle and elementary schools are more than a century old.
Construction and maintenance of public-school facilities are typically paid for from all-in-one funds allocated to each district on a per-pupil basis in Nevada.
School districts are eligible to seek additional funding through voter approval to sell bonds. Bonds typically result in taxpayers agreeing to increase their property taxes. The bond sale provides up-front money to the district to begin construction while it pays the bond holders back over time through the increased property tax.
The new proposal will have the State sell the bonds. The statutorily capped combined tax rate in the Silver State is $3.66/$100 of a property’s assessed value. Of Nevada’s 17 counties, 11 have reached the limit. Five of the 11 are rural districts eligible to benefit from the passing of AB 224. (Source)
