The Nevada Sagebrush

Gov. Jim Gibbons, right, speaks to the Nevada System of Higher Education's Board of Regents as Chancellor Dan Klaich looks on. Gibbons proposed changes to higher education he said will modernize the system. Photo by Jay Balagna/Nevada Sagebrush.

LAS VEGAS – In a speech to the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents, Gov. Jim Gibbons proposed changes that he said will modernize higher education, as well as give it a more steady budget.

In the speech, Gibbons called NSHE “Nevada’s intellectual infrastructure” and said his plan represents a new way of thinking about higher education.

Among Gibbons’ proposals were measures that, if passed by the Legislature in 2011, will keep 100 percent of tuition increases within NSHE (currently, tuition dollars go to the state’s general fund), will change classified employees in the system from state employees to NSHE employees and provide for more autonomous control over higher education by the Board of Regents.

“These are reforms that have been proposed for some time,” James Leavitt, the chairman of the Board of Regents, said. “We will do what we can to help this process.”

Gibbons said the tuition measure would help NSHE to become more self-sufficient, something he said the state will demand in coming years.

“Right now, higher education in Nevada is not only excellent, but a fiscal bargain,” he said. “In the future, I think it would be fair to ask students to bear a greater share of the cost of their education. However, as we do that, it is also reasonable for them to see their dollars return to their campus.”

Gibbons also proposed measures that he said will change the way Nevada funds higher education.

Those measures include allowing NSHE to save 25 percent of state money it doesn’t spend, which Gibbons said will encourage wiser spending, and a proposal that will encourage future governors and legislators to guarantee a consistent budget to higher education.

“I pledge to return higher ed funding to its historic level,” Gibbons said.

The announcement begins what will be a long process before any of the measure become law, Gibbons said. The governor’s office is working with legislative officials on drafting bills that will be ready when the 2011 Legislature convenes.

Gibbons said the measures would make sure cuts to higher education in Nevada would be temporary “reflections of the time” and not permanent changes.

“It is difficult to reconcile my commitment to higher education with my duty as governor while I’m implementing cuts to every state agency,” he said.

Jay Balagna can be reached at jbalagna@nevadasagebrush.com.

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