Regents balk at giving up funds for dental school

Art Nadler

Wednesday, June 9, 1999 | 10:38 a.m.

Some members of the Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada were reluctant Tuesday to give their blessings to a UNLV-based dental school without first securing funding.

Their concerns focused on a proposed $30 million, 100,000-square-foot building projected to open on the UNLV campus near Tropicana Avenue in the fall of 2000.

As of July 1, the school -- which was approved by the Legislature -- will officially come into existence, but it has no physical presence. Also, plans are under way to have it accredited by mid-August.

Three dental residency students are expected to begin classes in Las Vegas on July 1, but no classrooms have been designated at UNLV. And by the end of the year, as many as eight dental residency students are expected to be on board.

To date, very little money is on the table to fund either the dental school or the residency program.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, however, signed Asembly Bill 527, which will allow UNLV to issue up to $35 million in bonds to help with construction of the school.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, is hoping to win approval from the Health Care Financing Administration to use state Medicaid funds to begin construction of the building. He wants to transfer $5 1/2 million from the $13 million currently allocated to treat Nevada Medicaid patients' dental needs.

Douglas Ferraro, UNLV's chief academic officer, told the regents that UNLV President Carol Harter is willing to fund $125,000 from the university's budget in July and as much as $400,000 through October to pay for a dental school dean and supportive faculty members.

"I'm really uncomfortable with this," Regent Howard Rosenberg said. "I don't want to be frying today's eggs with chicken fat (money) we don't have yet. This really scares the daylights out of me."

Regent Mark Alden voiced similar concerns. He said the Legislature should have provided funding for the dental school. He was concerned about taking money from existing programs in the state university and college system to fund both the dental school faculty and residency program.

And Regent Tom Kirkpatrick told Rawson that he didn't support Gov. Kenny Guinn taking $1.4 million out of the university and college system to fund the residency program. Rawson assured him that the Legislature would take future residency program funds out of the general budget. He said Guinn only shifted the money to balance the budget.

Rawson said he is confident the residency program will eventually generate revenue and become self-sufficient. He was also confident the Medicaid money would come through, along with donations from private organizations and local dentists.

"The money will be spent, whether we build a dental school or not," Rawson, a dentist, said. "The state will spend $14 million this year, and we can capture some of it. The door is also open for us to provide a service for indigent patients who can't afford dental care through a dental school."