See higher ed leaders, see them spar

By Charlotte Hsu

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.

Quit calling for a state income tax. It's none of your business.

That's one message Nevada System of Higher Education Regent Bret Whipple had for Chancellor Jim Rogers on Tuesday's " Face to Face With Jon Ralston " news program.

The fast-talking Rogers and the deliberate Whipple tried to keep the conversation courteous while the feisty Ralston pummeled them with questions. Ralston even jokingly suggested at one point that Whipple should fire Rogers on the spot.

With Ralston directing the conversation, Rogers and Whipple didn't get much of an opportunity to hash out their differences .

Even so, the two remained fairly friendly. During a break in taping for the same-day show, Rogers quipped, "How come the time goes by (so fast) when we're having fun?"

Ralston's questions were related to Gov. Jim Gibbons' request last month that Rogers prepare plans for a 5 percent budget cut in higher education, as well as Roger s' response - a four-page letter outlining reasons he refused to submit a plan.

A week after Rogers fired off his note, Whipple and Regent Stavros Anthony weighed in with a letter to the governor saying they were "unaware of - and disappointed by - the tone and content" of Rogers' letter.

During the news show, Rogers said higher education is underfunded. He has repeatedly said a state business tax could help fund higher education and other state services. Whipple lauded the state for being generous to colleges and universities and said Rogers should stay quiet about tax policy.

Whipple said Rogers' public support for a new tax damages the chancellor's credibility with potential donors who might hold a different opinion.

Rogers, on the other hand, said he thought "it increases my credibility when I go to the private sector and say look ... the state Legislature has an obligation to adequately ... fund education."

Rogers has a habit of irking his bosses from time to time. He says what's on his mind even if he knows it won't please everyone.

Though Whipple wouldn't take Ralston up on his suggestion that he fire Rogers, he and Regent James Dean Leavitt had called for Rogers' resignation earlier this year. It was after Rogers wrote then- Chairman Whipple a letter threatening to resign if Leavitt ever became chairman or vice chairman.

Speaking about Rogers' recent spat with Gibbons, Whipple told Ralston : "He gets too far out there."

If Gibbons calls for a plan for budget cuts, higher education officials better provide one, Whipple said. He believes the state Legislature and the governor - not members of the higher education system - should dictate tax policy.

Rogers told Ralston : "I'm not trying to tell the governor what to do."

And he insisted his letter to Gibbons was "not an absolute refusal to work with him."

"I'm not stupid enough to refuse him, and secondly, we have to work with him," acknowledged Rogers, who's meeting the governor and other leaders in Carson City today to talk about the budget.

For now, Rogers can take solace in the fact that he has 13 bosses on the Board of Regents, not just one.

Regent Steve Sisolak, who doesn't always agree with the chancellor, is on Rogers' side on this one. Sisolak recently called Rogers' letter to Gibbons "well thought out," "pointed" and "direct." And like Rogers, Sisolak said last week the state needs to figure out how to raise more money to pay for basic services.