CCSD superintendent Jara voices opposition to ‘deep cuts’ in proposed House bill

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Clark County School District Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara wrote a letter to Nevada’s four members of the U.S. House of Representatives to voice his opposition to a current appropriations bill.

“I am writing to you today to urge you to oppose the deep cuts being proposed in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, H.R. 5894,” Jara wrote. “This bill undercuts the efforts of the nation’s schools to provide essential instruction by cutting Title I funding to support students from low-income families both this upcoming school year and next while also eliminating Title II funding to support effective instruction and Title Ill support for English language learners.”

He also suggested that the House of Representatives should vote on a Continuing Resolution to avoid a federal government shutdown on or after November 17 “rather than deep cuts to education.”

“Education appropriations for FY 2024 should follow the spending levels Congress approved in the Debt Ceiling legislation passed earlier this year,” he noted.

The superintendent added a list of bullet points outlining “what these cuts mean” for CCSD, including:

• “Reductions in Title I funding affects educators negatively and leads to them questioning government commitments to our neediest children. Additional cuts will only drive out more educators, resulting in fewer children having a licensed teacher in the classroom.”
• “It is well-documented that English Learners require additional support. Last year, CCSD had nearly 50,000 English learners enrolled. Cuts to English Learner programming would have a detrimental effect on keeping students enrolled.”
• “Social and Emotional Learning is so vital to our students. We have seen unparalleled trauma, stress, and challenges amongst students since COVID-19, the State of Nevada has invested millions of dollars in programs that bring SEL programming into schools. Losing federal funding would be damaging to the emotional growth of our students.”
• “CCSD has nearly 57,000 students who benefit from Magnet School funding, of which 68% are students of color who are receiving opportunities to finish school college and career-ready they otherwise would miss out on.”
• “The fiscal cliff CCSD is facing with the expiration of ESSER funds cannot be overstated. With this crucial federal investment, we have been able to exponentially expand our support for students, parents and teachers by investing this money directly into the classroom. Now more than ever we need ongoing investment from the federal government to ensure that our students continue to have the resources they need to be successful.”

His letter concluded by thanking the members of Congress in advance for “opposing this effort to remove vital funding from our classrooms.”

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