Gov. Joe Lombardo is expected this morning to discuss an emergency move to alleviate education budget woes stemming from declining school enrollment.
Earlier this month, Clark County School District officials said they would be forced to reduce their budget by more than $51 million this fall after seeing enrollment decline.
Those cuts were made unnecessary on Friday, when Lombardo endorsed an emergency regulation proposed by the Nevada Department of Education that will allow schools to receive funding based on enrollment figures that were approved during the Legislative Session in 2025, instead of current enrollment numbers, his office said.
Earlier this month, the school district said it would make the cuts to the 2026-27 school year budget — including a $29.1 million reduction to schools’ budgets and a $22.5 million reduction to its central office budget — as the school district has around 10,400 fewer students this year than last year.
Teaching jobs had been on the chopping block. The school district said Friday it was planning for the loss of an estimated 360 licensed professionals, 190 support professionals and 27 administrators before the emergency funding. Superintendent Jhone Ebert said in a news release Friday that “she is now confident that there is no need to eliminate positions in 2026-2027.”
The district said an enrollment drop of more than 10,400 students between last school year and this year as one of the primary causes of budget reductions this fall. The district had 291,587 students last school year, according to Nevada Department of Education data.
Lombardo is scheduled to meet with state and education leaders, including Clark County schools superintendent Jhone Ebert, at Wasden Elementary School.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
