The Nevada Sagebrush

Taking pot shots at the legislature and its approved budget, Gov. Jim Gibbons announced plans for a Feb. 23 special session in his State-of-the-State address Monday evening. Among several references to “failed” attempts by the legislature, Gibbons confirmed that he would not raise taxes and would instead continue to cut from state services to fill the near $1 billion state shortfall.

“Nevada’s tax base, Nevada’s population and Nevada’s job market can no longer pay for the bloated government services which were funded when Nevada’s economy was booming,” Gibbons said. “We will have to eliminate programs and services which make some people feel good, but which we simply can no longer afford.”

Between now and the summer of 2011, the Nevada state budget is expected to fall $1 billion short of its $6 billon budget. Rather than raising taxes, which would be detrimental to a state that already has a 13 percent unemployment rate and a rapidly dropping home value rate, Gibbons said the solution lies in cutting government services and researching more revenue resources.

Among Gibbons’ proposals to fill the Nevada deficit were to bring new green energy jobs to the state, push for new tourism initiatives and cut funding from K-12 education. Gibbons has asked the Nevada Commission on Tourism to report back in 30 days with new ways to bring visitors to Nevada. The Nevada Commission on Economic Development will also present a report on how they plan to encourage companies to locate and relocate to Nevada.

As a key focus in his speech, Gibbons said that increasing funding for higher education has done nothing in the past, and will not be a solution in the future. Under the Gibbons Education Reform plan, which he released in early January, Gibbons said that parents, teachers and school boards needed to take a more active role in Nevada’s education.

“It’s time to stop whining that education in Nevada doesn’t work because of a lack of funding,” Gibbons said during his speech.

“We need to quit throwing money at programs that haven’t worked and don’t work for our children.”

In order to reduce the cost of K-12 education, Gibbons has proposed that programs such as class size reduction and full-day kindergarten be eliminated from the Carson City mandate. This will allow individual schools and districts to decide what works for them, he said.

State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, who offered the Democratic response, agreed that although it is a difficult decision, all the excess programs have been trimmed, leaving only major ones like education.

“Sadly, my fellow Nevadans, the parts of our budget I never imagined would be vulnerable to further cuts, like education, now are,” Horsford said. “And unless other solutions are identified, there is a real possibility that thousands of teachers and educational personnel could be laid off throughout Nevada.”

Although cuts may be necessary, Horsford said the state government and school superintendents are discussing a handful of options including moving construction funds to classroom needs, reducing the school year and opening current teacher and administration contracts for more wage reductions.

Gibbons’ discussion about education, however, failed to include any commentary about his plans for higher education.

Nevada gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid offered a response to the speech in a press release to news organizations.

“The signs have been there for years that Nevada’s economy could not survive by relying only on tourism,” Reid said. “The governor has failed to do anything to spur long-term economic development and has failed Nevada. Now the governor has opted to cut education – a devastating course of action and exactly the wrong way to build for a better future.”

Tara Verderosa can be reached at tverderosa@nevadasagebrush.com.

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