City of Henderson Earmarks More Than $2 Million for Local Public School Projects
Mayor Debra March and the Henderson City Council approved the distribution of more than $2 million in funding for 32 local public school projects on May 21, 2019, as part of the City of Henderson’s ongoing commitment to improve educational outcomes.
The Henderson Community Education Advisory Board (CEAB) reviewed applications to fund educational projects submitted by Henderson public schools and made recommendations to the Mayor and City Council for distributing the funds. The Board recommended 21 school projects to receive $1,681,898 from the redevelopment area set-aside funds and 11 school projects to receive $430,000 from the retail marijuana license revenue set-aside funds. Education project applications are reviewed and funded once per year by the CEAB.
“Henderson residents place a high value on education and they support our efforts to improve academic achievement by investing in our local schools,” said Mayor Debra March. “This is the second year the City is distributing educational assistance funds to support public school activities and programs with more than $2 million that will be directly used to meet the educational needs of Henderson students.”
The funds will be used for a variety of educational projects, including expanded tutoring programs, enhanced reading and math curriculum, school library improvements, technology resources and educational diagnostic programs.
Funds for the school projects are provided through the City of Henderson Redevelopment Agency, which allocates 18% of tax revenue from property located in the Downtown and Eastside redevelopment areas toward schools located within one mile of those areas or that serve students that live in those areas, and the Henderson Public Schools Education Account, which receives 30% of the semiannual business license fees collected from retail marijuana establishments licensed in Henderson. These businesses pay a 3% license fee every six months based on their gross revenue. Henderson remains the only municipality to proactively designate marijuana business license fees toward local education programs.
The 15-member CEAB was formed in March 2017 and represents a community blend that includes parents, teachers, business leaders, school administrators, college representatives, non-profit organization members and other individuals who share an interest in enhancing local learning environments.
For more information on Henderson’s commitment to education, visit cityofhenderson.com/education.