Initiative petition to break up school district fails

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The initiative petition to break up the Clark County School District has failed to qualify for mandatory presentation to the Legislature, the secretary of state's office announced today.

But Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, who started the petition, plans to file an appeal.

Deputy Secretary of State Susan Morandi said today Tiffany presented 48,980 signatures and needed 44,009 to qualify to present the issue to the 2001 Legislature. But Morandi said the petition qualified in only 12 of the 17 counties, instead of the required 13 counties.

It needed 10 percent of the voter signatures in 13 counties. It did not make that in Douglas, Elko, Mineral and Washoe counties and Carson City. In Mineral County, she said the petition came up 28 signatures short. It needed 219 verified signatures but got only 191.

Morandi said Tiffany has until Nov. 17 to appeal the decision.

Tiffany said earlier this week she collected 34 affidavits from voters who said they signed the petition but whose names were not counted. Tiffany said the county clerk could not verify that the signatures on the petition matched those on the voter registration list.

The counties had until Thursday to submit the list of verified signatures to the secretary of state's office.

If the appeal wins, the initiative petition will be presented to the 2001 Legislature, which will have 40 days to act. If it rejects the petition, voters in 2002 will decide if the state law will be change to permit a break-up of the school district, one of the largest in the nation.

If the voters approve a change in the state law, then residents of Clark County must vote whether they favor changing the district alignment.