Lombardo, Education Leaders Address Emergency Order at Wasden Elementary to Avert 570+ CCSD Job Cuts

LAS VEGAS, NV — Standing alongside state and local education leaders on Monday morning, Governor Joe Lombardo addressed his emergency regulation that temporarily suspends strict per-pupil funding formulas to rescue Nevada school districts from abrupt mid-year budget cuts.

The press briefing—held inside Howard Wasden Elementary School on Monday, September 28, 2026—brought together Clark County School District (CCSD) Superintendent Jhone Ebert, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Victor Wakefield, and school administrators to detail the operational impact of the executive intervention signed late Friday.

The 120-day emergency order halts a pending surplus process in Clark County that threatened to displace more than 570 teachers, support professionals, and administrators after district enrollment fell by more than 10,000 students.

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|       WASDEN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION BRIEFING DOSSIER     |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  - Convening Venue: Howard Wasden Elementary School    |
|  - Briefing Date: Monday, September 28, 2026           |
|  - Key Officials: Gov. Joe Lombardo, CCSD Superinten-  |
|    dent Jhone Ebert, State Supt. Dr. Victor Wakefield  |
|  - Policy Catalyst: 120-Day Emergency School Funding   |
|    Regulation (Signed Friday, Sept. 25, 2026)          |
|  - Core Mechanism: Freezes Per-Pupil Revenue at 2025   |
|    Legislative Session Baseline Counts                 |
|  - Primary Beneficiary: Clark County School District   |
|  - Displaced Positions Halted:                         |
|      • ~360 Licensed Classroom Teachers                |
|      • ~190 Education Support Professionals (ESPs)     |
|      • ~27 School-Site & Central Administrators        |
|  - Financial Deficit Averted: $51.6M Mid-Year Cut      |
|    ($29.1M from Schools; $22.5M from Central Admin)    |
|  - Legislative Runway: 120-Day Buffer Ahead of the     |
|    84th Nevada Legislative Session (Carson City, 2027) |
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Inside the 10,000-Student Fiscal Chasm

The briefing addressed the acute financial pressures facing the state’s largest school district.

Earlier this month, CCSD central leadership warned that public student counts had dropped by over 10,000 students compared to the prior academic cycle.

Under Nevada’s Pupil-Centered Funding Plan, state education funding directly mirrors real-time quarterly classroom attendance.

Because the baseline state budget approved by the Legislature had projected flat enrollment across the 2025–2027 biennium, the steep deficit erased over $100 million in expected state revenue.

Coupled with negotiated cost-of-living salary increases, CCSD was preparing an emergency $51.6 million mid-year reduction, forcing campus principals to initiate staff surplus rosters.

“With school districts facing budget pressures that threatened dedicated teachers, staff, and student learning, we needed to take immediate action,” Lombardo said, reiterating the terms of the emergency directive. “This emergency regulation keeps teachers in classrooms and gives school districts the stability they need to continue to serve our students.”

Classroom Reprieve and the 2027 Runway

Superintendent Ebert confirmed to reporters and educators at Wasden Elementary that the governor’s emergency order provides total operational certainty for the remainder of the 2026–2027 school year.

The surplus process—which would have forced roughly 360 teachers, 190 support staff, and 27 administrators to reapply or shuffle between regional campuses—has been officially suspended.

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|             EXECUTIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE REMARKS         |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  • CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert: Confirmed staff    |
|    rosters will remain intact across all campuses,     |
|    avoiding split-grade consolidation mid-semester     |
|  • State Supt. Dr. Victor Wakefield: Emphasized the   |
|    order buys vital time to formulate long-term        |
|    stabilization reforms for the funding formula       |
|  • Labor Union Response: Clark County Education        |
|    Association (CCEA) affirmed the order prevents      |
|    immediate educator disruption in public classrooms  |
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State Superintendent Dr. Victor Wakefield cautioned that while the 120-day emergency rule protects schools this semester, it serves as a temporary bridge.

The executive branch and the Nevada Department of Education plan to coordinate with legislative leadership heading into the 84th Legislative Session in Carson City to construct a permanent stabilization mechanism that insulates district payrolls against sudden demographic contractions.

Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Education Desk (Noble Brigham), The Nevada Independent (Rocío Hernández), Nevada Department of Education Public Records.