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Published Monday, May 11, 2009 | 2:56 p.m.
Updated Monday, May 11, 2009 | 6:10 p.m.
Sun Coverage
The Nevada Legislature blew another self-imposed deadline Monday as it failed to reach a consensus on how much to cut higher education.
The "core group" broke Monday evening with tight lips, saying they would meet again Tuesday to try and come up with an agreement.
Speaker Barbara Buckley repeated that they are only $14 million apart. Higher education advocates have been pushing for a 10 percent cut.
"We're a half inch apart," she said. "Like any negotiation, the last inch is the hardest."
Buckley added that everyone is "a little bit tired and grumpy."
Republicans, though, want to keep the amount of cuts they restore compared to Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget as low as possible, to limit the size of a tax increase that is coming.
No one said publicly what the disagreement was. But Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, when asked about whether the amount of money raised would be higher than $836 million, said "Ask Bill Raggio. He's the only person in the room here who has a limit, based on numbers."
The 2003 Legislature passed an $836 million tax increase, the largest in state history. Some lawmakers have wanted to hold any tax increase below that figure.
Raggio denied Coffin's portrayal of the situation, saying "we're still deliberating."
Dan Klaich, executive vice chancellor for the Nevada System of Higher Education, said he is still hoping for a 10 percent cut from what the Legislature approved two years ago.
Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget calls for a 36 percent cut to spending on higher education from 2007 levels.
to the lasvegassun journalists: I keep reading that gibbons wants to cut 36% of higher ed. Please let us know how the budget compares to 2006, 2005, and 2004. I am wondering whether this 36% is just to sound dramatic, but is it only going back to the same budget they had in 2006 when real-estate was at it's peak and there was a lot of extra money to spend?
I am so tired of hearing how "higher education" needs more and more money. Let the students pay for their own education. I have been around UNLV and its a party place that I no longer want to fund. period.
With no tax changes, total Nevada general fund spending for the 2009-11 biennium, according to the committee that produces the official forecasts, will be approximately the 2003-04 total. Higher ed was about 19% of that total in 2003, and the governor proposes lowering that to about 11%.
Without changes, higher ed will reach 2013 approximately at the same funding level it had in 2003.
The holdup is probably some legislators wanting to help UNR at the expense of CSN and UNLV.
Tomorrow the Regents will likely vote to dramatically increase fees paid by students.
What that means is hundreds of layoffs, and a more than 10% cut in pay (including changes in the health plan) for university employees. If you read the R-J this weekend, you know that state employees are already paid less than their private counterparts and 28% less, on average, than their city and county "peers."
It also means fewer nurses, fewer teachers, fewer of our best and brightest staying in this state, less chance of diversification of the economy, and more shattered dreams.
One of these days, we're going to have to decide what kind of state we want to be.
There's a reason states like California, Massachusetts and North Carolina are attractive to high-tech, high-wage companies. These states value higher education, and have invested in creating university systems that are the envy of the country. If we aspire to that -- heck, if we aspire to economic diversification of any kind -- we're going to have to start investing in our university system.
Mediocrity as a state is a heck of a price to pay for ultra-low taxes. Too high of a price, if you ask me.
I thought harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi fixed this back in January. Nancy got $30 million to enhance the habitat of the marsh field mouse. Was that really more important than the education of Nevada's youth?
What set the priorities of the $1 Trillion Dollar stimulus program if states are still going bankrupt? California is $20 Billion short and Nevada is falling like a star that doesn't want to shine any more.
Hope for a change in the priorities of Congress. How much does ACORN get for community organizing again?
Yup, a sober analysis and a comparative analysis indicates that the higher education system does not perform so well. Funding is a big piece of it. You may stick your head in the sand but you also have to deal with the reality that in some specialties faculty members are paid like sports stars and if you aren't in that game then you lose. Losing might not always be real bad - but overall it is disastrous. You know you can lose a few battles but when your whole program is to retreat then you will be badly beaten.
A conservative friend of mine tried to guess my salary as a professor at the College of Southern Nevada. He missed only because he guessed almost double the amount I make. Gee, is it possible that people just believe the garbage the R-J and other right-wing outlets spew and don't bother to get something as ridiculous as the facts?
Boohoo, I feel so sorry for all of the professors making over $100,000 year.
No one is worried about the professors over $100K.
This is about the kids who want to be nurses, but can't get a slot in the now smaller program. The kids who want to do something more than work at McDonalds or park cars, but are now going to be stuck.
This is about a state whose average income is dropping compared to the national average, which used to be 20% above average, is now 3% above average, and will, in the next 5 years, go below average.
From what I understood, the plan not that long ago was to set funding for Higher Education at the required 2006 level (to qualify for the stimulus money)and then add the stimulus money to the total. This would have achieved about a 19 percent "decrease" from the current biennium. So it would seem that getting down to the levels that are being considered are even better than that. I think the Higher Education people are upset that the "cuts" for K-12 will end up with more money authorized for spending than the current biennium. The real questions should be on what the extra funding is going to pay for. That way the private sector who are going to have to pay for the increases can understand whether they are getting their money's worth.
That plan was before they found out the budget was another $800 million or so in the red.
The amount of tax increase required to get to 2006 would, I assume, be impossible to pass. They may try to steal it from Clark County and the cities, but I don't know if that's possible either.
UNLV expects a huge cut, in large part because they expect UNR to be protected and UNLV to be the sacrificial lamb.
look at the salaries on hr.unlv.edu
In my opinion, UNLV is not a sacrificial lamb when you see those HUGE salaries.
14 million, that's the hold up? What kind of minute percentage is that? And I haven't been following this very much, but the cuts between UNR and UNLV are not equal? Is that right? I don't get this.
The state does have to be careful, because UNLV and UNR are not schools with recognition nationwide, so you can't charge what it would cost to go to Arizona or USC and expect people to go their. You can't expect a person to pay 40,000 for a used Kia, when a Lexus is the same price.
nevadaappleslices,
According to the link you provided, there are 1,256 employees at UNLV who earn less than $50,000 per year. These people are not earning "HUGE" salaries like you claim. It is these people and not the high-paid administrators who are going to suffer when you cut higher-education funding. I don't know how much you earn at your job, but try to show some compassion to those who are just trying to make ends meet and who don't need people like you spouting anonymous lies about how overpaid they are.
nevadaappleslices,
What do you think is a reasonable salary for someone who has spent 10+ years training for his/her profession and is in the top 5% of the population for educational attainment?
After the looming brain drain finally hits and our best and brightest kids wash cars and flip burgers for nevadaapplesauce and jfnance32, futures dim and hope disappears for the chance of a decent life around here, I have fears that nobody will recognize the underlying reasons for the cruel poverty that will be gripping Nevada's youth.
We are making poor decisions for our future. Not offering our kids a chance at a better life because we clearly don't have it in our hearts to do so is a nasty legacy. Most of the other states pay taxes to support their infrastructure like schools and bridges, highways and health care. We rely heavily on visitor dollars. They're not coming here anymore. We refuse to ante up. The problem is ...
nevadaappleslices:
I wish you were here with me in Calif. so you could vote NO on Props. 1A, 1B, and 1C., which will raise taxes (mostly for education) and let the state borrow money against future lottery sales. The tuition at UCLA is going up 10% and it already costs around $3000 a quarter to go there. Universities are learning institutions, but they are also corporations trying to get your money and they are selling a hugely overrated product--the degree. Check out this 20/20 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_24uSPe...
I am one of those "overpaid" UNLV Professors. I have a BS (4 years), Ph.D. (5 years) and post-doctoral (4 years) degrees. If I have invested the same amount of time in Medical School, I would be making 3-5 times more money. However, I wanted to do research and teach. I exchanged earning potential for the thrill of discovery and the opportunity to educate. I have never regretted my decision. However, I feel saddened when I read comments devaluating higher education.
Before coming to Nevada, I worked in NY. When I decided to move, I had offers to work in Philadelphia and Detroit. I decided to come to UNLV because it was a young university changing into a research institution. I wanted to be a part of that. As I expected, UNLV has many growing pains, However, I remained optimistic. I continue to teach, work in my office and in my laboratory.
I have brought 1.5 million dollars to UNLV for my research program. With that money, I am supporting the two technicians, four graduate students, and three undergraduate research projects. The money goes to pay salaries, buy reagents, equipments, etc.
One common misconception is the role of research. Research allows the exploration of new areas of knowledge. These new concepts are not found in books. More importantly, it helps students develop critical thinking skills. Research experience is a huge plus for students going into the medical field. Simply put, students applying to Medical School without research experience will not be able to compete with their peers from other states. My graduate students also teach their skills to the newest generation of undergraduates. From my laboratory, I had students go to Medical, Graduate, and Pharmacy School. In the near future, these professionals will take care of your health.
Despite all the obstacles, I remained optimistic. The economic downturn is cyclical and we will eventually come out. I can deal with that. What is frustrating is the lack of concern (and outright belligerence) that Nevada has for education. In any other state, a Governor that proposed to balance the state budget by gutting education would have been laugh out of government. The Governor's proposal was so insidious that I had colleagues from other states asking if Nevada was going to shut down higher education altogether. Instead of outrage, the Review Journal editorialized in favor of the Governor's proposal.
At this point, I wonder. Is Nevada worth it? Do I let my children get a mediocre education? With a 20-25% cut, how much of UNLV will survive? The thing is, I and others like me, can easily move to other research institutions, but we still believe in the potential of UNLV and Nevada. At some point, however, I may need to cut my loses. I will be very disappointed, but I will not sacrifice my family and career for a state that does not care.
After reading the above professor's comments, I will be sure to vote NO on Props. 1A, 1B, and 1C here in Calif. First of all, I don't have kids so I don't care if there are massive cuts to the L.A. Unified School District. If kids have to bring their own toilet paper to school, that's too bad. We are in a DEPRESSION and THERE'S NO MONEY.
Secondly, the higher education system in this country is destroying as many lives as it is helping. Check out www.studentloanjustice.org or read "The Student Loan Scam" by Alan Collinge. Or You-Tube "Student Loan Default" or "Westwood College Scam". America has a long history of corruption, but even Al Capone or William Marcy Tweed would be impressed by Sallie Mae and its collaboration with universities across the country to suck money from students and their parents.
A higher education degree doesn't come with the promise of a job--and colleges don't deserve a bail-out.
I guess the commenter above has no need for doctors, lawyers, or any educated folks since he has no children. only in Nevada do you get such negative comments about higher education or education for that matter. The ignorance level in Nevada shows through the daily comments on this website. Never have I been around more uneducated, ignorant , people until I moved here. I homeschooled my son because of the lack of concern by Nevadans for education. I grew up in Boston were we were at least four or five years ahead of Nevada. this is the only state I've been in where I stated "oh I'm going back to finish my degree" and every Nevadan that was born here stated " oh you have your GED". I don't even know how to respond, GED is the highest level achieved here? Sorry, but the level of rudeness and ignorance I experience on a daily level from people not knowing how to drive, to the lack of professionalism and courtesy show Nevadan's lack of education. no discussion, just name calling ignorance. i have lived in more than 5 states and lived abroad and no one is more ignorant, rude, nasty than Nevadans you beat New Yorkers in rudeness and wonder why less tourists are coming here. Why travel so far to ignorant town when a tourist can just visit an Indian Casino and be treated with courtesy
To manfromuncle1:
Really? You do not want to invest in education because you do not have children? Remember that the next time you need a doctor! As I said before, we are training the future professionals. The type of people that will help you and will, incidentally, increase the tax base of Nevada because they earn higher salaries