Henderson: City backs push for new college

Lisa Snedeker

Thursday, April 1, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

If this session of the Legislature decides to approve funding a feasibility study for a four-year state college, the question remains: where should it be located?

In Henderson. That was the message the Assembly Education Committee heard Wednesday amid resounding support for establishing a third-tier of higher education in the soon-to-be second largest city in the state.

Of the more than 60 high school students, local business representatives and city and higher education officials who turned out during spring break at Green Valley High School to testify on Assembly Bill 220, not one voiced opposition to the proposed legislation co-sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson.

While Porter was not present, a representative read a letter of support from him.

If passed, the bill would provide $1 million for a feasibility study to determine the need for establishing a state college system and locating the first campus in Henderson. The Education Committee, which handles policy questions, will make a recommendation to the Ways and Means Committee.

Committee Chairman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, said holding the hearing in Henderson gave the committee a unique perspective -- a first-hand glimpse at the support the community is willing to provide.

The concept of adding another tier to the state's higher education system is not necessarily tied to Henderson, Perkins said, but "this is where the growth is."

Perkins pointed to Gov. Kenny Guinn's millennium scholarship plan and the fact that UNLV and the Community College of Southern Nevada are bursting at the seams as justification for a state college.

The issue of capital funding for the proposal is a wash considering the growing student population will require additional facilities to be built at UNLV or CCSN, Perkins told committee members.

Perkins said there are benefactors willing to provide several million dollars in local support for a state college and federal funds are available to train teachers.

"If this was a national teaching academy ... we would get teaching candidates from all over the country," he said. The present state higher education system cannot produce enough teachers to meet the demands of the Clark County School District, the ninth largest in the nation. It is the partnership with the city and the private sector -- the marriage of public and private dollars -- that makes the proposal unique, said Mayor Jim Gibson.

Gibson, who believes a state college will fill the gap left between the community college and the universities, said there are three parcels the city controls that have been earmarked as potential campus sites.

Perkins said a state college also would bring economic diversity to the bedroom community as well as increase economic development opportunities.

"More bachelor's degrees mean more earning potential," he said.

Ron Meek, provost of CCSN's Henderson campus, Regent Thalia Dondero and Chancellor Richard Jarvis gave their support for AB 220. Dondero said the Board of Regents will discuss the Henderson college concept at its May meeting.

Not everyone, however, is in support of the bill.

UNLV President Carol Harter has said she believes that a new higher education facility in Clark County should be a part of the UNLV system. Harter, who fears education dollars would be taken away from existing schools to fund a new college, said she instead would support the idea of a UNLV satellite campus in Henderson.