On a party line vote, the Legislative Commission on Wednesday approved a regulation allowing educational support staff to get unemployment benefits.
Jeff Frischman, head of Unemployment Insurance Operations, told the commission the regulation would be temporary and allow benefits only through the coming summer. He said it was drafted because those educational personnel are normally off during summer and find other work but the pandemic made it impossible for many of them to get that other work, putting them in dire financial straits.
Normally, those personnel don’t qualify for unemployment benefits because they are on leave but not unemployed since they return to work with the new school year.
Senate Minority Leader James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, said data from school districts says there could be a huge financial impact to their budgets. He said while federal stimulus money will pay 75 percent of the cost, the school districts would have to pay the remaining 25 percent from their own budgets.
He said Clark County School District estimates that would cost a total of $30 million — $7.5 million of which would come from the district’s funds.
Settelmeyer said Elko County estimates the impact at $1 million.
Brad Keating of CCSD said $30 million is a middle range estimate of the cost, not the high end. He said depending on how educational support staff is defined, there could be as many as 6,000 workers eligible in the district, which would raise the impact substantially.
But DETR officials said the number actually out of work could be significantly smaller. DETR Director Elisa Cafferata said Clark district officials believe that they would bring back the majority of their staff to cover summer school starting June 1, so the number actually seeking unemployment benefits would be small.
In addition, DETR staff attorney Troy Jordan said those employees who get an outside job would be ineligible as would those making more than $500 a week and those who declined a job offer.
In normal times, those support professionals are legally treated like teachers who don’t qualify for unemployment during the summer break.
Commission Chair Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, described the regulation as “a temporary solution to help support professionals who have been adversely affected.”
The seven Democrats on the panel all voted for the regulation.
“I’m still very concerned we’re taking money out of the school district’s budget and for that reason, I cannot support it,” said Settelmeyer.
He was joined by the other five Republicans on the commission.
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