Henderson schools to get share of money from recreational pot license fees

Public schools in Henderson will get financial boosts totaling about $300,000 next year from money raised by city business license fees for recreational marijuana, thanks to a Tuesday vote by the Henderson City Council.

Council members voted 4-0 in favor of a resolution to take 30 percent of business license fees from the city's five dispensaries and more than a dozen cultivation, production and testing facilities that market recreational marijuana products. Such fees equal about 3 percent of pot businesses' gross revenue and are projected to bring in a total of $1 million to the city in 2018.

"Now and in the future those funds will be used for education, which I think is critical," Councilman Dan Shaw said before the unanimous vote. "It'll benefit our youth and it'll benefit our students."

City spokesman David Cherry said the funds will focus on improving technology, expanding after-school tutoring and maintaining buildings across Henderson's 35 public schools, encompassing kindergarten to 12th grade. The funds will also be packaged for a select number of scholarships for students enrolling at the city's two public higher education campuses, CSN Henderson and Nevada State College.

City officials, citing an economic analysis by Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis, project recreational weed business license revenue to triple by 2019 as the marijuana industry expands and state law allows for local municipalities to open more recreational pot licenses to the public. With $3 million expected in 2019, $900,000 will go to public schools per the measure approved on Tuesday.

Henderson Mayor Debra March was not in attendance Tuesday and did not vote.