{"id":46605,"date":"2023-08-12T17:59:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T00:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/?p=46605"},"modified":"2023-08-13T06:03:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T13:03:37","slug":"lombardo-pulls-another-rabbit-out-of-the-hat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/lombardo-pulls-another-rabbit-out-of-the-hat\/","title":{"rendered":"Lombardo Pulls Another Rabbit Out of the Hat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

(Chuck Muth)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 In \u201cOutlaw Josey Wales,\u201d Clint Eastwood played the title role as a man being hunted by lawless Union troops after the Civil War.\u00a0 He and his sidekick, Jamie, kept getting away every time the Yankees thought they were cornered.
\u00a0
After dodging yet another capture, Jamie remarked to Wales, \u201cWhooped \u2018em again, Josey.\u201d
\u00a0
Which is exactly what Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo did to legislative Democrats late yesterday afternoon.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the latest rabbit he pulled out of the hat\u2026
\u00a0
Opportunity Scholarships are privately funded scholarships for low-income, mostly minority children so they can escape Nevada\u2019s failure factory government schools and attend the school of their choice.
\u00a0
The scholarships are funded by corporate donations, in return for which the companies get a tax credit from their payroll taxes \u2013 just like you get on your federal income tax for making charitable contributions to non-profit organizations such as the Red Cross or American Heart Association.
\u00a0
The program was launched in 2015 and the cap on donations that would be tax credit-eligible was $5 million \u2013 with a built-in annual increase of 10%.\u00a0
\u00a0
Democrats have been trying to starve the program to death ever since.<\/strong>
\u00a0
Once they got back into the majority in the Legislature in 2016 \u2013 and after Democrat Gov. Sisolak was elected in 2018 \u2013 they killed the automatic increases and froze the cap.
\u00a0
At the start of this year\u2019s session, Gov. Lombardo proposed increasing the funding cap to $25 million per year and called for the return of the automatic increases.\u00a0
\u00a0
Democrats told him to kiss their arse.<\/strong>
\u00a0
Throughout the session, Democrats stonewalled the governor\u2019s proposal, refusing to even hold hearings on it. And not only did they refuse to boost the cap, they cut the current funding from around $11.4 million to $6.6 million.
\u00a0
And when they cut funding from $11.4 million to $6.6 million, hundreds of kids were at risk of losing their scholarships and being forced back into a failing public school.
\u00a0
With Democrats perfectly content to screw those hundreds of kids out of a better education, Lombardo came up with a plan to restore some of the money the Democrats cut from the program by using $3.2 million in unspent COVID relief funds to make up the difference.
\u00a0
Not a dime of that money would come out of the public school budget.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the heartless Democrats on the Interim Finance Committee rejected the proposal on Wednesday, resulting in some 600 low-income, mostly minority children getting kicked out of the schools of their choice.
\u00a0
But late Friday afternoon, Lombardo \u2013 whose mantra is \u201cGet sh*t done!\u201d \u2013 announced that he\u2019d come up with yet another way to save those kids.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what happened\u2026
\u00a0
The scholarships are awarded by six Scholarship Grant Organizations (SGO).\u00a0
\u00a0
The SGO\u2019s apply for the limited number of tax credits and then award them to eligible families. But because it was well-known the Democrats have been trying to drive a stake through the program\u2019s heart for years, there were two ways to handle the funds.
\u00a0
For the sake of simplicity, I\u2019ll explain it generally like this\u2026<\/strong>
\u00a0
Let\u2019s say the average grant is $5,000 and the SGO received $100,000 in grant funding for high school students.\u00a0 That meant they could go two different ways\u2026
\u00a0
1.)\u00a0 They could give out 20 grants of $5,000 each for one school year, or\u2026
\u00a0
2.)\u00a0 They could give out 5 grants of $5,000 for a total of $25,000 and \u201cbank\u201d the remaining $75,000 so that those 5 kids would be assured funding for the full four years of high school in case the Democrats killed the program.
\u00a0
Some of the SGO\u2019s immediately gave out all their money to as many kids as possible, hoping the Legislature would continue funding the program so no kids would lose their scholarships in the future and be able to stay in the school of their choice after the first year.
\u00a0
Others socked away their money in a sort of \u201crainy day fund\u201d to make sure their scholarship recipients would be protected for multiple years of their education and not just one year.
\u00a0
After Democrats killed the governor\u2019s no-brainer funding proposal to use the COVID money to keep kids from getting kicked out of their schools on Wednesday, it looked like the end of the line.\u00a0 However\u2026
\u00a0
Gov. Lombardo worked with one of the SGO\u2019s \u2013 AAA Scholarship Foundation \u2013 which agreed to use money from their reserve account to make up the $3.2 million difference so no kid would be forced out of their school and into a public school this school year.
\u00a0
Whooped \u2018em again, Joey!<\/strong>
\u00a0
But make no mistake.\u00a0 This is just a temporary fix.\u00a0
\u00a0
Obviously, the saving account money AAA had set aside for its own kids will now have to be replaced down the road – or some of\u00a0THEIR<\/u>\u00a0kids will eventually lose\u00a0THEIR<\/u>\u00a0scholarships and be kicked out of the schools of\u00a0THEIR<\/u>\u00a0choice.
\u00a0
Gov. Lombardo and AAA Scholarship Foundation have stopped the bleeding.\u00a0 But the wound will re-open again next year.\u00a0 What the governor has done is buy some time to find a permanent solution without any kids currently in the program getting the shaft.
\u00a0
And the only way a permanent fix will be approved in the Legislature is if Nevada voters elect either more Republicans or better Democrats.\u00a0 Or both.
\u00a0
Yes, conservatives will be looking at beating incumbent legislative Democrats in next year\u2019s elections.\u00a0 But most of the incumbents\u2019 seats are \u201csafe.\u201d\u00a0 The odds of a Republican winning are slim to none.
\u00a0
So conservatives also need to be looking for \u201cLombardo Democrats\u201d to support in Democrat primary races in the 2024 election cycle.\u00a0 That\u2019s something conservatives have only rarely done in past elections.\u00a0 But it\u2019s time to do so now.
\u00a0
School choice needs to be a top issue, not only in races pitting a Republican candidate against a Democrat incumbent, but in Democrat primaries featuring a pro-school choice Democrat against an anti-school choice Democrat.
\u00a0
Do it \u201cfor the children.\u201d<\/strong>
\u00a0
One last note: As bad as the Democrats are on this issue, they\u2019re not the worst player in this travesty.
\u00a0
The sole reason Democrats have their heels dug in on killing any and all school choice options is that\u2019s what the teacher\u2019s union wants.\u00a0
\u00a0
The union doesn\u2019t give a damn about kids.\u00a0
\u00a0
It only cares about its dues-paying members and political power.
\u00a0
The Democrats are the governor\u2019s political opponents.
\u00a0
The teachers\u2019 union is an enemy of the people.
\u00a0
And it\u2019s\u00a0WAY<\/u>\u00a0past time to go scorched earth on them.\u00a0 Lock and load.
\u00a0
7 Worst Habits of Highly Unelectable People<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Picking the wrong race<\/li>\n
  2. Picking the wrong district<\/li>\n
  3. Picking the wrong issues<\/li>\n
  4. Picking the wrong time<\/li>\n
  5. Picking the wrong consultants<\/li>\n
  6. Picking unnecessary fights with the media<\/li>\n
  7. Picking door-knocking over fundraising<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    FAMOUS LAST WORDS<\/strong>
    \u00a0
    \u201cAt my request, AAA Scholarship Foundation has volunteered to utilize reserve funds to ensure that no students lose access to their scholarships this year. I\u2019m grateful for their eagerness to create a short-term solution. We have to keep fighting for our kids.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo
    \u200b<\/em><\/strong>
    \u201cGovernor Joe Lombardo promised to get the funding for this program and he came through.” \u2013\u00a0ABC News13<\/em><\/strong>
    \u00a0
    \u201cAfter Democrats voted to defund opportunity scholarships for hundreds of low income children, Governor Lombardo came through with a solution.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Better Nevada PAC<\/em><\/strong>
    \u00a0
    \u201cWhen Governor @JosephMLombardo says he\u2019s going to get something done, he gets it done. Full stop.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Elizabeth Ray<\/em><\/strong>
    \u00a0
    \u201cWe are so grateful to Gov. Lombardo for rapidly correcting this situation and not giving up. Remember-these are reserve funds they are using, so we must continue to fight for the Opportunity Scholarship Program. It\u2019s amazing to have a Governor who truly cares.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Power2Parent Union<\/em><\/strong>
    \u00a0
    \u201cDemocrats don’t hate Opportunity Scholarships because they don’t work … Democrats hate Opportunity Scholarships precisely because they do work.” \u2013\u00a0Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks, who seems to have finally figured out who the real villain is in this fight<\/em><\/strong>
    \u00a0
    Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.\u00a0 You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.\u00a0 His views are his own.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Chuck Muth)\u00a0\u2013 In \u201cOutlaw Josey Wales,\u201d Clint Eastwood played the title role as a man being hunted by lawless Union troops after the Civil War.\u00a0 He and his sidekick, Jamie, kept getting away every time the Yankees thought they were cornered.\u00a0After dodging yet another capture, Jamie remarked to Wales, \u201cWhooped \u2018em again, Josey.\u201d\u00a0Which is exactly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[748],"tags":[3466],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46605"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46607,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46605\/revisions\/46607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}