The Indy recently published two articles that point to a larger story and a choice we face about the future of Nevada. On Tuesday, The Indy published a piece stating, among other things, that Nevada ranks last in the nation when it comes to school funding and making sure the money gets to the students in need (“Fight to force more funding for K-12 schools reaches Nevada high court”). On Sunday, it published an op-ed that mentioned that the Oakland A's want the state to provide taxpayer dollars to fund a baseball stadium for them here in Nevada (“Stadium subsidies are just corporate welfare for sports moguls”).

I confess to being a big sports fan. And living in Las Vegas, I do get a little feeling of pride when I drive past Allegiant Stadium and think about what it means to have a big NFL team here. But I am also a parent of school-age children, and our family wants to call Nevada home for a long time. And so I wonder: Where do we see our state in the next 10 or 15 years and what are we willing to do (and not do) about it? 

If the story of the Raiders is any guide, it is clear we can attract the Oakland A’s to Nevada if we offer another big taxpayer handout. But what reason do we have for doing that? Even though the public money for Allegiant Stadium came from a new hotel tax, it still was not free money. Every increase to the hotel tax makes it a little more expensive for people to come to Nevada. Higher taxes means fewer visitors. Given how important tourism is to our economy, we must be sure we have a very good reason for increasing taxes on rooms and other tourist activities.

Stadium proponents will argue that a new MLB stadium will result in economic benefits. But The Indy correctly reported that there is strong evidence to suggest that the promised economic benefits of stadium projects never actually materialize. Indeed, as the Sunday article noted, 83 percent of economists say that publicly financed stadiums cost local communities more than they generate in the long run. The reason to go ahead with another stadium project cannot be the economic benefit, then. 

What about that sense of pride we might feel by having our own professional baseball team in Nevada? As I mentioned, I’m a sports fan. I am sure I would enjoy donning the team’s colors and watching some games on the couch with my kids (I doubt we would be paying for expensive stadium seats). But is that really something that is worth the price, especially knowing that our state’s public schools rank last in the nation in funding and equity? Personally, I don’t think so. 

I think we can make a better choice. If we want to show real pride in our state, and show the world we are a big-name destination that cares about its own people, let's stop sweeping our public school problem under the rug. Instead, let’s tackle it head-on and make the hard choice to pass a new or increased tax to invest solely in our public schools. A new sales or mining tax might be appropriate for this purpose. Even a new tourism tax would be worth considering for the purpose of supporting our chronically underfunded public schools, as opposed to a new stadium. Then, let’s do the hard work of holding our school administrators accountable for spending that money in a way that slowly and steadily pushes our schools up the rankings (maybe we can pass Utah and Arizona, who rank just above us today).  

We can choose a future where we no longer rank last in educational metrics. If we do, then instead of marveling at a shiny new baseball stadium, we will marvel at the thousands of Nevada’s school children who have benefitted as a result — children who had a better chance of success because they received more individual attention from their teachers, more books and resources to spark their curiosity, and maybe even a new playground to enjoy during recess.

Looking back and seeing all that will give us a much greater sense of pride than another big-league stadium here.

Brian Orion is an environmental attorney. His practice focuses on representing nonprofit organizations in public interest litigation to protect water, air, endangered species and other natural resources. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two children.