Democrats fail to stop Guinn’s veto of teacher evaluations bill

Erin Neff

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 11:32 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Both parties pledged an era of bipartisanship this legislative session, but an attempt to override Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto of a 1999 teacher evaluation bill Wednesday fell squarely along party lines.

Guinn came out victorious as Democrats missed a two-thirds majority vote to overturn last session's veto by just two votes.

The bill, which passed with bipartisan support in 1999, required administrators to spend one hour in the classroom to evaluate a teacher.

The bill also required administrators to tell the teachers how to address any deficiencies in their practices.

In a letter to Secretary of State Dean Heller when he vetoed the bill, Guinn said it "inhibits the removal of poor teachers from the classroom and places an undue and potentially substantial burden on school administrators."

Guinn said the bill made the administrator responsible for the employee's success or failure.

Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, who has been a civics teacher for 29 years, urged his colleagues to overturn the veto Wednesday to "stop the practice of drive-by evaluations."

Anderson said since the bill passed with bipartisan support, 33-9 in the Assembly and 19-1 in the Senate, he saw no reason why a continued bipartisan effort shouldn't override the veto.

But the Assembly's 26-15 vote to override the veto was not enough for the required two-thirds majority. Genie Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, missed the vote due to surgery to mend a broken leg. And two Republicans eyed as possibly voting with the Democrats -- Greg Brower of Carson City and Dawn Gibbons of Reno -- both sided with their party.

Since everyone in the Assembly chambers knew the vote was going to be close, a bit of extra drama set in when the electronic tote board to tally the votes failed to operate. As lawmakers voiced their votes, some could be seen tallying the progress on their own.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, urged his colleagues to leave the veto intact.

"We're fortunate in Nevada to have a governor who understands education," Hettrick said, referring to Guinn's past service as UNLV President and Clark County School District Superintendent.

Hettrick said the bill could easily be redrafted this session to implement the beneficial aspects. The Nevada State Education Association and other education groups supported the 1999 bill.

After the veto override failed, Anderson said he would accept Hettrick's "good faith offer" to work on a compromise this session.