Letter: Nevada turns its back on kids’ education

Friday, May 10, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

The other night I attended the Clark County School District's Southeast Region Public Forum meeting. The budget cut plans that will ultimately be implemented next year brought tears to my eyes. I was raised, educated and spent the last 40 years of my life here in this great city.

Now I'm a mother of two young girls who will not be afforded the same wonderful school days that we took for granted. I played softball. I was on the tennis team as well as a cheerleader in middle school. I also was given a ride to and from school on a school bus.

Next year they propose that these great lifetime lessons and memories will be a thing of the past. There is not enough money! A child will walk a total of six miles a day with a heavy backpack full of books! All across the country school districts are given $6,000 per student except here in Las Vegas. We are at the bottom of the scale, receiving only $5,000. That extra $1,000 per student would go to teachers' income, middle school sports, transportation, etc.

Our governor, Kenny Guinn, and many elected officials in the Legislature have campaigned rigorously on the backs of improving education. However, once they have received our vote it seems all they do is pass the buck when it comes to funding more money for education.

These children are the future of the state of Nevada. How can the officials put their heads in the sand?

SUSAN E. COKER-STEVENS