Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.
Nevada State College at Henderson officials said they are thankful that no one is pulling the plug on them this legislative session.
But with drastic budget cuts being recommended, they acknowledged the school will be on life support for the next few years.
"There's no question, in 30 years of being an administrator in higher education, this is the tightest budget that I've ever had to work with," college president Kerry Romesburg said Wednesday. "We're going to stay open is what we're going to do."
Romesburg learned Tuesday that Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, called on Gov. Kenny Guinn to cut $10 million from the college's requested budget of $16.9 million. Perkins, who has been one of the college's biggest supporters, called for the cut in order to save the school.
Overnight, the state college -- designed to train students to become teachers and nurses -- was put in a position of trying to make ends meet.
"(These cuts) could have the effect of cutting down the number of nurses and teachers the state college produces," said Jane Nichols, Nevada's higher education chancellor. "That is a strong possibility."
Romesburg said that the college's $2.8 million for 2003-2004 and $3.9 for 2004-2005 is just enough to pay for its staff of 10 people and perhaps a few more part-time teachers on down the line.
"Beyond that, it won't go very far," Romesburg said. "It means that paying for such things as utilities, keeping the lights on or paying for basic supplies will be a stretch."
Romesburg said the college is still committed to helping produce teaching and nursing graduates, just not at the level that was originally planned.
Under an outline done by former president Richard Moore, the college planned to start with 1,000 students and graduate 200 teachers and 200 nurses two years after opening.
The 2001-2003 Legislature funded the state college for 500 students, but it enrolled only 230, making it a target for budget cuts.
By Romesburg's estimates, the reduced funding would allow the college to produce a maximum of 60 teachers and 50 nurses by 2006.
That's a far cry from meeting the state's nursing demands. Nevada's public nursing schools are already turning away 78 applicants per semester.
The state college was expected to help raise the number of nursing graduates. Right now, the state's six colleges graduate about 250 a year collectively, according to a University and Community College System of Nevada report.
"I think the hope is that (the Nevada State College at Henderson) certainly was going to contribute," said Julie Johnson, director of the University of Nevada, Reno nursing school. "My guess is that if their funding is cut, then they will be limited in their ability to address that issue."
A $27 million proposal this session to double the state's nursing program would give the state college $1.08 million in additional revenue. Romesburg said that money would help tremendously, but given the state's bleak outlook, he's not counting on it.
Instead, the college may have to lean on an old friend, the Nevada State College Foundation. In just one month the foundation's president and its members have raised $125,000. There was just $8 in its account in December, foundation chairman Bill Martin said.
The newly raised money could serve as seed money to hold fund-raising campaigns to help the college both short-term and long-term.
"I can't speak for the board on how they might react to all of this," Martin said. "But, I can see us focusing on some smaller fund-raising events that would help the state college meeting some of its shortfall."
The final funding figures for the college is expected to be released by the governor's office on Monday.
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