North Vegas Times

The White Pine County School District and the state of Nevada is hoping that funding from the American Rescue Plan Act will help overcome historic problems in the state's public education system.

Nevada's public education systems rank among the worst in the nation, with White Pine County School District ranking last place in the state and worst in the country, according to 24/7 Wall St. Metrics used to rate school districts come from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics and include child poverty rate, teacher-to-student ratio, per-pupil spending and percentage of adults with a college education. 

In White Pine schools, there are 28 students for every teacher, compared to the average student-teacher ratio of 20-to-1 across the state. The district also received low ratings for its academics, college prep, clubs and activities, and resources and facilities.

The federal government passed The American Rescue Plan Act in March, which will provide $6.7 billion to the state to be used on issues including housing, economic development, child care and infrastructure, according to Nevada Current. Included in the funding is $1.7 billion for K-12 education and $203 million for higher education.

“With this federal funding, we have an opportunity that we’d never had before, to fix systemic problems that have existed for decades,” Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a statement, according to Las Vegas 8 News Now. “I am hopeful that everyone here today will help solve some of these long-standing problems in our state.”

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine has launched a “Nevada Recovers Listening Tour” to seek public opinion on the best way for the state to spend the funding.