Education Proposals Create Major Stir

January 13, 2010

Gov. Jim Gibbons created a big stir last week when he asked the Legislature to overhaul K-12 education spending when he calls a special session, probably in February.

Since the state’s revenue has been lower than what was projected, the governor said education must absorb more cuts.

Then, he proceeded to outline an eight-point process.

While some of the ideas — on the surface — appear to have some merit, others do not.

Gibbons would like the school districts to eliminate class-size reduction because student test scores haven’t improved dramatically. His plan said the state could save $127 million in fiscal year 2011.

<p&gt ;Not quite. In a review by the Nevada Appeal, our sister newspaper, the savings would be half that amount because Nevada's regular per-pupil funding for public schools will still cover the cost of those teachers.

Also, cutting more than $40 million out of the current education budget would violate the federal rules for receiving stimulus money, resulting in a loss of $394 million for K-12 and higher education and $70 million for low-income schools and special education.

The governor had discussed cutting special education funding and returning the money to the districts, but the majority of funding for special education comes from the federal government.

Gibbons also wants to eliminate collective bargaining and an elected state Board of Education, replaced by appointees. There are more pressing items to discuss during a special session than to revamp non-monetary issues.

The governor must listen more to his school superintendents, legislative finance committees and the state Department of Education to devise better proposals for reducing the education budget.

For example, recommendations could have included the feasibility of having a four-day work-week for all school districts, reducing pay 4.2 percent for educators and support staff (similar to the state furlough plan), eliminating field trips, reducing athletic schedules and combining freshman with junior varsity teams.

In the future, the governor needs to rely on those who are involved with the educational budget process on a more regular basis rather than to those advisers who review the spreadsheets once or twice a year.

Not doing so is short-changing all Nevadans.