carson city:

Lawmakers to universities: Go back to 2006 spending level

Friday, March 20, 2009 | 2:08 p.m.

Archive of Sun politics stories

CARSON CITY – Legislative leaders told university officials to stop complaining about the governor’s budget cuts and begin drawing up a plan to roll back spending to 2006 levels.

Such a plan would be an 18 percent cut from current spending levels.

Gov. Jim Gibbons proposed slicing the state’s support for the Nevada System for Higher Education by 37 percent in his budget leading system officials to complain they have been singled out.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said today that other programs took bigger hits in the governor’s budget. There were 100 percent reductions in an autism program and medical care for low income pregnant women. Eleven of 18 mental health clinics in rural Nevada could be closed.

Assemblyman Debbie Smith, D-Reno, told Dan Klaich, the executive vice chancellor of the system, that he was not providing answers the lawmakers need to make decisions.

Klaich, who bore the brunt of the criticism, said there would be no layoffs if the 2006-level budget were approved. But there could be a layoff of 2,000-2,200 personnel if the governor’s budget is approved.

The university regents have approved a plan to increase tuition by 5 percent in each of the next two years. Klaich told the budget subcommittee of the Legislature that any further hike in tuition should be in the low single digits.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said he wants the university to set priorities on where funds should be cut.

Buckley told reporters after the hearing that “Klaich testified that at a minimum the university needed to be funded at ’06 levels. I agree with that.”

“That’s wise for the university to submit an alternate budget than what was submitted by the governor,” Buckley said. “What levels of cuts that should include is still up for discussion.”

“I think they should present an alternate budget that prevents higher education from being decimated,” Buckley said.

The university system has $677 million in state support this fiscal year and Gibbons sought to reduce it to $432.3 million next fiscal year.

Discussion: 7 comments so far…

By jfnance32

3/20/09 at 3:25 p.m.

Suggest removal

What......did they not get the memo from Rogers????????

He must be having a complete meltdown.
By neiman1

3/20/09 at 3:59 p.m.

Suggest removal

First, why is going back 2 years an 18% cut in funding. Did it go UP too fast.

Second, has anyone thought about staff taking a pay cut to save jobs? Everyone else is.
By fred

3/20/09 at 4:04 p.m.

Suggest removal

Does this mean that they are going to pull their heads out and take the stimulus funds for higher ed?
By morgen

3/20/09 at 4:27 p.m.

Suggest removal

THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. Cut to 2006 levels, and what are they going to do with the Federal Stimulus money? Regents: just raise tuition 20% and see what the legislature will say when their constituencies complain and don't get them reelected. Nevada offers one of the cheapest educational costs in the country. It would be great to keep it like it is, while improving quality, but right now, the stupid policies and the governor's and the legislature's incompetence are doing just the opposite. Good professors are leaving, classes and entire programs are being cut, AND tuition is rising. Provincial, short-sighted mentality to say the least... Nevada deeper into the hole as ever before!!!
By brst

3/20/09 at 5 p.m.

Suggest removal

Let's close one of the universities and get it over with.
By manfromuncle1

3/20/09 at 11:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

Yeah, universities should realize that the era of blank checks is over. They have to accept their fair share of budget cuts and quit pretending like they hold the key to the future of America--because they don't. Their collusion with student loan companies is shameful and they are destroying a lot of lives with student loan debt. (read "The Student Loan Scam" by Alan Collinge.) I have an accounting degree from Cal-State L.A. that I haven't used for anything. I mostly lost interest in accounting after I graduated. The office jobs I had didn't require a degree--just some knowledge of accounting principles. I will NEVER use many of the business classes that I took--like marketing, management theory, statistics, etc. I could have learned about those subjects by reading a book. Intermediate accounting is just accounting principles with more detail. Universities could EASILY cut their budgets by reducing the number of classes required for a degree by 15%. Many people wish they had NEVER gone to college because of the student loan debt they got themselves into. You CANNOT declare bankruptcy on student loan debt. You will take that debt to the grave or until you pay it off (with exorbitant interest and fees).
By orientalobserver

3/22/09 at 6:24 a.m.

Suggest removal

The 18% cut proposal would disproportionately and adversely affect the new Nevada State College. As a new school, only six years old, it has been creating the infrastructure (e.g. its first building, the liberal arts and science building, only opened seven months ago) that will last for decades, while the number of students has doubled from two years ago. NSC is not in the same position as the more stable, older, somewhat bloated UNLV, UNR, or Southern Nevada Community College (which itself is pretending to be a full scale university rather than a 25,000 student junior college). Nevada State College was established to fill the gap between the "tier 1" research university (UNLV) and the junior college, providing a real college level education particularly in the biological sciences because our aging population will need more trained employees with medical-related knowledge, skills, and abilities. We should not decimate Nevada State College, which is on the road to success. A "one size fits all" across the board percentage cut does not reflect the thoughtfulness we expect of our legislatures, its on the surface "fairness" is just a smokescreen for sound bite politicians. That's not what Nevadans need.