Editorial: Cutting dead weight

Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 9:03 a.m.

Richard Carpenter became president of the Community College of Southern Nevada just last August, but he hasn't wasted time making serious changes. He has streamlined the operations of the college's administration, removed the cronyism in hiring that had hurt the institution and placed a new emphasis on creating programs that better fit the needs of local businesses and their employees. And, just as importantly, Carpenter has pledged to get rid of programs that no longer are needed.

One of those programs that Carpenter has ended is the community college's professional truck driving school. Carpenter said this week that the program was losing too much money -- it was more than $273,000 in the red this year. And since there are four private trucking schools locally that students can attend, it's not as if the need can't be met elsewhere.

Although there are programs deserving to be cut or eliminated, it shouldn't be lost on the public -- as Carpenter has noted previously -- that the Community College of Southern Nevada isn't receiving its fair share of state funding when compared to Nevada's other community colleges. (For instance, the funding per full-time student at the Community College of Southern Nevada is $5,451 while it is $6,581 at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno.) Carpenter is hopeful that the Legislature will take steps to reduce this disparity. Indeed, the Legislature should reward Carpenter's fiscal discipline by providing the community college with the same funding as other campuses around the state.