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Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 | 1:23 p.m.
Keith Rheault
Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY – Furlough of state workers and a loss of health insurance benefits have contributed to the highest employee turnover in the state Department of Education in 20 years, its leader says.
The department has 160 authorized positions but only has 140 of them filled, says state Superintendent of Public Instruction Keith Rheault.
He told the Legislative Committee on Review of Base Budgets Wednesday that employees are asked to do more with less. The picture is the same in many other state agencies, Rheault said.
Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, chairwoman of the committee, opened the hearing with criticism of Gov. Jim Gibbons, who complained the legislative committee was exceeding its authority.
Woodhouse said the legislative budget staff has been denied information from the state Housing Division and the Medicaid program. There has been “a lack of cooperation,” she said.
Gibbons told his agencies any request for information by the legislative committee must be reviewed first by the governor’s office, then his office would determine what budget questions would be answered.
Woodhouse said there has been limited information supplied by the state Parole and Probation Division and the state Buildings and Grounds Division.
The Department of Education is headed by Rheault, who is appointed by the state Board of Education, not the governor.
Rheault said there is $11 million in state funding for his department, with $3.5 million removed in the last two to three years. He said another $1.1 million would be cut under directive from Gibbons to reduce budgets by 10 percent.
He said his staff has left due to retirement or for other jobs, such as in school districts, where salaries are frozen but health insurance benefits have not been reduced. Under the state law, state employees must take a furlough one day a month in an effort to save money.
Rheault said there has been concern there is not enough staff from his department in Clark County. He told the committee that the number has been increased from five workers to 29 staff in the Southern Nevada office in 20 years.
“I’m looking for a way to improve the Las Vegas office,” he said. But it takes just as many staff to help a rural county school district as it does to aid the Clark County School District," he said.
He hopes to station a quarter of his employees in Southern Nevada, Rheault said.
Discussion: 3 comments so far…
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They lost their health insurance benefits???? Would anyone with other options work here? I wouldn't.
No kiddin
Hey education Chief, and all you other government execs. Your salary should not exceed $100k. If it does, you're milking the system.
As always, individuals continue to open their mouths about public employees salaries and benefits. If you have any ounce of a brain you would know the "state" public employees make less than the "city and county" public employees. Take a look at www.transparentnevada.com. Grouping these different types of employees together is just wrong. The local government employees have not seen the benefit cutbacks or the mandatory furlough days the state employees have experienced in the last year or so. I do agree cutbacks should happen for all government employees who make more than $100k, not the frontline and middle folks.
gpigs...
when you say "we"; do you have a mouse in your pocket?
Sometimes I read these posts for the laughs and giggles. Some posters like to just make stuff up like it is true ("Their average total package is DOUBLE the private sector equivalent") as an example. Not only is this not true it doesn't pass the sniff test. The article clearly says employees are leaving so according to Gbigs people are leaving to get half of what they had. (I know he didn't write that but this is essentially the mentality you see on many of these posts).
There is a recession out there. This guy and his department better learn to work with less people. They may actually have to hustle a little bit. I have zero sympathy for this academic. He is lucky to have a job.
I love it when people generalize about things based on their narrow and jaded perspective of life. My brother works for a state agency in LV which was staffed by 37 mostly engineering and scientific people. All have advanced degrees. They lost two people to better jobs in the private sector just after furloughs were announced. They're both making 26% and 38% more. Another four just left for better salaries and benefits offered by out of state private jobs. Three more are leaving by October 8th.
If the state has such fabulous benefits and retirement, why are a lot of the people leaving? If all you whiners are feeling cutbacks, apply for state jobs. Oh ya; they aren't hiring. Besides, you didn't make it past 9th grade, can't pass a placement test, or your degree in history just doesn't cut it. Improve your job prospects; go back to school.
Couldn't have said it any better Libra
("Their average total package is DOUBLE the private sector equivalent") as an example"
It is completely true and was in USA Today about 2 weeks ago!
I've probably been in almost every government building in Vegas, and I can say that majority (high 90%'s) of workers are (a) not happy with their job but stay for the pay, and (b) spend WAY too much time doing nothing but chatting with each other, texting, solitaire, facebook, and going out for smokes.
Efficiency in government workers is pathetic, and they wouldn't last one week in the real world.
Unfortunately because of stupid unions; management cannot fire them or really do anything, so they are safe to continue abusing the system, getting raises for length of time employed and not performance.
I would go insane working for the Government.
I completely agree with sevenhills and would also add that many of them in the regulating jobs (building inspectors, code enforcement, licensing, etc) are bureaucratic bullies!
Public employee greed caused their problem.
Am I to believe USA Today did a story comparing Nevada state education employees to private education employees and found that Nevada state education employees have a package worth double private education state employees Noindex? Sounds like a big fib to me.
7hills do you hang out stocking state employees? Sounds like it if you can get that much intel from visiting government buildings.
As for the gravy train being over, fine. Fire them all. I hope you like the society you get. I'll be long gone (and no I won't let the door hit me on the way out) and watching the effects from far far away. :) :) :) :)
Seven Hills and gbigs meet the unmotivated government workers. Workers meet the disgruntled taxpayers. Essentially both of you have the same perspective. You get what you pay for...