Regents vote against Henderson college downgrade

Friday, Aug. 11, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

RENO -- The Board of Regents Thursday voted down an effort to downgrade construction of a student services building at the proposed state college in Henderson.

Regent Tom Kirkpatrick of Las Vegas said expanding the student services complex at UNLV should have a higher priority than starting one at the proposed Henderson campus.

The regents at their last meeting agreed to a $36 million project for both classroom and student services buildings. It was given the eighth priority on the list of 20 possible projects for the system.

A project to expand the student services building at UNLV at a cost of $6.5 million received the 11th priority.

Kirkpatrick proposed building the classrooms but moving the student services building at Henderson to below the priority for UNLV.

"I don't want to build a Taj Mahal in Henderson at the expense of other students," Kirkpatrick said. "There is a much greater need at UNLV."

Richard Moore, president of the state college, said the classroom and student services projects need to go together.

Moore said UNLV made its student services project its third priority. He said the construction priority list puts a science-engineering complex costing $25 million and improvements at Wright Hall for $23 million, both at UNLV, ahead of the Henderson classroom-student services projects.

Kirkpatrick suggested Henderson could modify its classroom building to accommodate both classes and student services.

But Kirkpatrick only got the vote of Regent Steve Sisolak of Las Vegas.

Other regents said the campus presidents agreed on the priority list. And they said there should not be any changes until a space study of the needs of the system is completed.

The Henderson project is to be funded by $26 million from the state and $10 million from donations.

After the vote, Kirkpatrick said the regents were promised by backers of the Henderson project that it would not siphon off money from other schools. But he said that is what is happening here to the detriment of 25,000 UNLV students.

He also complained Henderson backers promised to raise $100 million to begin the school, but those pledges are coming up way short as the state must reach into its coffers to begin the school.

The issue could be academic. There may be only $90 million available from the state. And that amount of money may be used up before the priority list reaches the Henderson $36 million project.

In other action, the regents approved the Community College of Southern Nevada to go forward with development of a $1.4 million soccer complex plus a one-acre park at the West Charleston campus.

Mike Meyer, assistant vice president for athletics and development at CCSN, said the city has allocated $700,000 and intends to give $300,000 worth of lighting. He also has $400,000 in other services.

This would allow the girls soccer team a practice and a playing field. The girls, Meyer said are now practicing on dirt. The West Charleston Campus is now using 30 of the 80 acres on the campus.

Meyer noted the school has received a $700,000 gift to complete the baseball field at the Henderson campus for men players. This soccer allows the start of women athletics.

The regents also approved the request of CCSN to negotiate an agreement with the Nevada Community Enrichment Program to lease five acres on the Charleston campus. The program would build a full-service rehabilitation facility and eight residential apartments for the disabled.

The project would be adjacent to Opportunity Village.

The regents also voted to submit bills to the Legislature to make Millennium Scholarships available to students at Henderson State College and upper division students at the Great Basin College in Elko.

The board also supported a bill to provide financial aid at the two schools for students studying to become teachers.