Nevada State Treasurer Dan Schwartz says no violation of court order in promoting vouchers program

State Treasurer Dan Schwartz says the call by parents demanding he stop promoting the school vouchers program is a misinterpretation of the Nevada Supreme Court order blocking it.

The parents who formed Education Nevada Now charged continuing to promote the program violates the high court ruling that said it was unconstitutional. Their lawyers threatened to seek a contempt of court order against Schwartz unless he stopped promoting the program, which now has more than 8,000 families seeking to claim the money.

But Schwartz said the Supreme Court didn’t rule the Education Savings Accounts unconstitutional, only the funding mechanism for them.

“The funding mechanism just needs to be adjusted for this fiscal year,” he said. “I can assure the citizens of Nevada that we will continue to abide by the Supreme Court’s decision and will not fund any accounts.”

The high court ruled funding those vouchers — up to $5,100 a year per student — out of the K-12 education budget was a violation of the constitution. But Schwartz said the court expressly ruled the vouchers themselves were legal.

“The funding mechanism will ultimately be decided by the governor and the Nevada state Legislature in the upcoming legislative session,” he said.