Nevada schools awarded $2.7 million to improve test scores

Tuesday, June 16, 1998 | 9:01 a.m.

The funds approved Monday by the state Board of Examines includes $1.5 million for 13 13 Las Vegas-area schools.

The funds were approved on the condition the state Department of Education submit a detailed report by September 1999 on how the funds were spent and the effectiveness of the programs.

The Board of Examiners is made up of Gov. Bob Miller, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Secretary of State Dean Heller.

There is $3 million available for the schools. A committee made up of education, state budget and legislative staff reviewed the proposals and recommended the funding levels for each school.

A total of $286,000 remains unspent, and the 23 schools will be allowed to reapply for a share of the remaining funds.

The remediation money was provided as part of the 1997 Nevada Education Reform Act for schools where more than 40 percent of students performed poorly on basic skills tests.

In other business, the board approved paying $49,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of Ramon Guin, killed in Las Vegas in 1993 after threatening a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper.

The trooper, Douglas Webster, tried to make a traffic stop on an unregistered vehicle in June 1993. A vehicle pursuit occurred, then a foot chase as Guin left the vehicle.

An attempt to take Guin into custody led to a struggle - when Webster lost possession of his baton - and Guin was shot three times. He died at the scene. An inquest found the shooting was justifiable.

The Guin estate had sought $900,000, and the attorney general's office reported that the facts of the case were in dispute.

A focus group conducted by the attorney general's office considered the evidence and indicated they would award the Guin estate $600,000. The cost of a trial was estimated at $45,000, so the settlement of $49,000 was recommended to the board.

The board also approved spending $79,484 on insurance and maintenance for the Southern Nevada Children's Home in Boulder City, despite its closure last year. The 1997 Legislature voted to close the home because of the expense, and instead send children to foster care or group homes.