Survey of lawmakers backs teachers’ point on tax hike

David McGrath Schwartz

Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

When the Nevada State Education Association said it wants voters to add 3 percentage points to the gaming tax, the establishment protested. The governor. The Greater Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Big labor unions.

So just how politically isolated are the teachers?

We e-mailed the 63 members of the state senate and assembly with a few straightforward questions.

Is education under-funded, yes or no?

Do you support the teachers' proposal, yes or no?

If education needs more money and a gaming tax increase isn't the solution, what is?

Not a single legislator gave an unequivocal vote of support for the teachers' initiative, and only a couple of legislators even came close to offering their support. Teachers, feel the frost.

Some lawmakers said it was inappropriate for the Sun to pose the questions because the proposal wasn't yet a matter of formal debate in Carson City. (We're open to informal debate.)

There was a lot of political tiptoeing, likely for reasons having to do with political survival. Come down on the teachers' side, and you've got to answer to gaming lobbyists. Sympathize with gaming and you've got to face voters who smell blood, liking the idea of sticking it to the casinos.

To be sure, there were thoughtful, high-minded responses, questioning the wisdom of relying too much on one industry as a state revenue source and setting policy through initiative, which many say is bad public policy. (Teachers say that with such little support in Carson City, what other choice do they have? And the legislators' response to the Sun poll lends credence to their concern.)

All of the responding Democrats agreed that education needs more money.

The amount of new money appropriated by Gov. Jim Gibbons last session was "pitiful when you consider what is needed to provide our schools and teachers the resources they need," said the legislature's top Democrat, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley.

Because the teachers haven't finalized their initiative language, she wouldn't give a firm yes or no on it.

But she sounded like a no, saying she would support a gaming tax increase only if it were part of a "broad - based package that made sense - including ensuring the money is directed at funding the items needed most to improve our schools," she said.

A lot of other lawmakers said they too wouldn't weigh in until they knew exactly what the teachers wanted. (You'd think there would be enough to discuss just with the basics: The teacher's union wants voters to raise from 6.75 percent to 9.75 percent the gaming tax on casinos that take in more than $1million a month.)

Assemblywoman RoseMary Womack, D-Henderson, came closest to saying yes to the teachers.

"I applaud the Nevada State Education Association for their stand," she said. "It's time for gaming to pay its share for roads, schools and infrastructure. I think that the Legislature has been over - generous for too long and has kowtowed to the veiled threats of the gaming industry."

State Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, also walked up to the yes line, saying she'd do what her constituents want.

"If my district says yes, I'm there to represent them," she said. "That's what they elected me for."

But she worries about other needs in the state, such as mental health and foster care, that are not sufficiently funded.

Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, was conflicted.

"I would want others to come to the table too," he said. "I just don't want to focus on one industry to the exclusion of others."

He closed his e-mail: "Does that sound like a politician?"

Republicans, particularly those in the party's fiercely anti-tax wing, found the teachers' question right in their wheelhouse. Windup, pitch, and a resounding no.

"We need to look at how they're spending the money," state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said. "We should not increase funding without showing better results."

State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, also said no.

He said more money won't necessarily produce better results - "money is low on the list of reasons quitting teachers have offered me," he said - and there needs to be more accountability.

He would favor more funding for K-12 if there were smaller increases in the funding of "local governments, welfare and university system."

State Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he doesn't support setting policy through a tax initiative.

Raggio, the Senate majority leader, broke ranks with Gov. Jim Gibbons by saying it was time to assess the state's tax policy because essential services are struggling for funds. He also called for politicians to end their "no new tax" campaign promises.

None of the results surprised Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association.

The association has had conversations with about a dozen legislators, primarily Democrats, she said, and "many understand our frustration, understand the issues. Unfortunately, as we're waiting for legislators, we're still sitting at the bottom of the heap."