STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEVADA FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STADIUM PROJECT

(Carson City, NV) - On February 5, 2024, Strong Public Schools Nevada together with prominent education leaders filed a constitutional challenge against Senate Bill 1 (SB1) which provides up to $380M in taxpayer funds to construct a baseball stadium. Senate Bill 1 is riddled with constitutional violations and our goal is to ensure public funds are not used for a misguided stadium project. We believe SB1 violates five (5) sections of the State Constitution and those violations should lead to the bill’s invalidation.  Vicki Kreidel is an elementary reading specialist for grades 1-5 President of NEA of Southern Nevada, and one of the Plaintiffs. “Educators throughout Nevada are frustrated by the lack of focus by politicians on real priorities, like public education. There’s been more planning of a “world class” stadium than there has been implementing a funding plan to ensure a “world class” education for our kids. These misguided priorities are why Nevada continually ranks at the bottom of all the good lists." Chris Giunchigliani is a career education leader, public servant, and one of the Plaintiffs. “Even though public education and other services are woefully underfunded in Nevada, politicians chose to direct precious tax dollars to a billionaire’s stadium project. Hopefully this legal challenge will reset the debate, so state leaders can instead focus on meeting the needs of everyday Nevadans.” Since the misguided proposal to divert public school dollars to for-profit and private schools, Strong Public Schools Nevada has been working to make public education a priority in Nevada. This litigation continues our work to support public education and oppose the diversion of public money for private or corporate use. Strong Public Schools Nevada is in solidarity with our sister committee, Schools Over Stadiums, which is pursuing a referendum to ensure hundreds of millions in public money goes to essential services like public education. 

Schools Over Stadiums was formed by Nevada educators in response to a giveaway of hundreds of millions in tax dollars to a California billionaire for a stadium, when Nevada schools rank 48th in per-pupil funding with the largest class sizes in the nation. Schools Over Stadiums is pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium. This includes litigation as well as giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to stop this misguided project. Strong Public Schools Nevada is a non-profit political action committee affiliated with the Nevada State Education Association for the purposes of supporting public education and opposing the diversion of public money for private or corporate uses.

SCHOOLS OVER STADIUMS LETTER TO MLB COMMISSIONER MANFRED 

Rob Manfred MLB Office of the Commissioner 1271 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10120 Dear Commissioner Manfred, My name is Dawn Etcheverry, and I am an elementary music teacher and President of the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA). NSEA has been the voice of Nevada educators for over 120 years and is the Nevada affiliate of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States with over 3 million members. This summer, NSEA launched Schools Over Stadiums to challenge the use of $380M in public funds to subsidize the construction of a new stadium in Las Vegas. After several months of organizing, our commitment to blocking the use of public funds for the stadium project has only grown stronger. NSEA launched Schools Over Stadiums after Nevada once again fell short in prioritizing public education during the last legislative session. Nevada ranks 48th in education funding, even behind Mississippi, and has the nation’s largest class sizes. We also are experiencing the worst teacher shortage in the country, leaving thousands of Nevada classrooms doubled up or covered by substitute teachers. This chronic underfunding compromises the basic function of public education in our state. In May, nearly a thousand educators and supporters rallied in front of the Legislature in Carson City calling on elected officials to invest additional funds into our classrooms. Instead, we got Mr. Fisher’s stadium deal, with nothing more for our students. During the stadium debate, Oakland A’s fans organizing to save their team made a special connection with Nevada educators. In addition to testifying together, fans and educators connected on social media. Oakland fans were quick to sympathize with Nevada educators working in poorly funded schools. As a result, many Nevada teachers noticed their Donor’s Choose lists for classroom supplies were cleared by Oakland fans they met online. Oakland fans. This engendered a strong feeling of solidarity. While you must decide if the A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas is in the best interest of baseball, let me express in no uncertain terms that the Las Vegas stadium deal is bad for Nevada educators and every Nevadan who cares about our schools. Schools Over Stadiums remains committed to qualifying a referendum petition for the November 2024 ballot. We are working to clear a procedural hurdle regarding our petition language, but Nevada educators are used to overcoming obstacles every day. We are confident that when Nevada voters go to the polls next year, they will choose schools over stadiums. Additionally, Schools Over Stadiums has been looking deeper into conflicts between the language of Senate Bill 1 authorizing the stadium deal and the Constitution of the State of Nevada. We believe there are several violations which should lead to the bill’s partial or total invalidation if challenged in Court. Finally, it should be noted that these types of stadium deals are not unique to Nevada. Many of my colleagues from around the country have closely followed the developments of Schools Over Stadiums which could serve as a model for opposition to the use of public funds for stadium projects. I appreciate your attention to this matter. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about our efforts here in Nevada. Thank you. Dawn Etcheverry, President

Schools Over Stadiums was formed by Nevada educators in response to a giveaway of hundreds of millions in tax dollars to a California billionaire for a stadium, when Nevada schools rank 48th in per-pupil funding with the largest class sizes in the nation. Schools Over Stadiums is pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium. This includes litigation as well as giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to stop this misguided project.

STATEMENT REGARDING LAWSUIT FILED BY A'S AND REVIEW JOURNAL LOBBYISTS

(Carson City, NV) - On September 27, 2023, Schools Over Stadiums was served with a lawsuit filed by representatives with ties to the A’s challenging our referendum petition seeking to repeal the state tax funding dedicated to stadium bonds in Senate Bill 1 from the 35th Special Session. “When we launched Schools Over Stadiums in June, an A’s representative called to pressure me into abandoning our effort to refocus Nevada’s misguided priorities,” said Dawn Etcheverry, an elementary music teacher and President of Schools Over Stadiums. “Educators will not be intimidated or bullied. Some in our community claim to support educators and schools, but when we advocate to prioritize public education, they say, ‘No, not like that.’” For weeks, stadium proponents dismissed the Schools Over Stadiums petition effort, saying it wouldn’t impact their stadium plans, but now they are suing educators for not fully describing the petition’s “substantive impacts” on the project. This A’s stadium plan is like a house of cards, but the public should be aware the deck has been stacked against those who oppose public money going to a billionaire’s stadium. Powerful special interests are now suing teachers to prevent a referendum petition from moving forward to block the voice of everyday Nevadans at the ballot. Both Plaintiffs are well-connected lobbyists with close ties to a member of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority that just approved a controversial $1.8M contract with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) for staffing needs related to the proposed stadium. “Suing educators trying to put schools first sets a terrible tone for an organization claiming to now care about our community,” said Alexander Marks of Schools Over Stadiums. “Educators overcome challenges every day. Schools Over Stadiums is confident our referendum will move forward and we will be gathering signatures to fix Nevada’s misguided priorities in the coming weeks.”

Schools Over Stadiums was formed by Nevada educators in response to a giveaway of hundreds of millions in tax dollars to a California billionaire for a stadium, when Nevada schools rank 48th in per-pupil funding with the largest class sizes in the nation. Schools Over Stadiums is pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium. This includes litigation as well as giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to stop this misguided project.

Schools Over Stadiums Demands Greater Accountability from Stadium Proponents

School Over Stadiums was formed by Nevada educators in response to a giveaway of hundreds of millions in tax dollars to a California billionaire for a stadium, when Nevada schools rank 48th in per-pupil funding with the largest class sizes in the nation. Schools Over Stadiums is pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium. This includes litigation as well as giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to stop this misguided project. During the 82nd Legislative Session, the Governor and Legislative leaders focused on greater accountability and transparency related to public education. Governor Joe Lombardo claimed he would work “to ensure our systems of accountability and transparency are robust and enforced.” Speaker Steve Yeager called hours-long hearings with school districts related to “the importance of accountability and transparency.”   Andrea DeMichieli is a school counselor and officer with Schools Over Stadiums. “While educators appreciated the calls for greater accountability for our schools, we believe at least the same standards should apply when gifting hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to out of state billionaires. Failing to register as lobbyists and disclose for whom you are working is the opposite of transparency and accountability, and everyone involved should demand better.”  

Schools Over Stadiums was formed by Nevada educators in response to a giveaway of hundreds of millions in tax dollars to a California billionaire for a stadium, when Nevada schools rank 48th in per-pupil funding with the largest class sizes in the nation. Schools Over Stadiums is pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium. This includes litigation as well as giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to stop this misguided project.