Proposed cuts leave Nevadans on both sides of budget debate

By Kyle B. Hansen

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 | 1:03 p.m.

It was easy to tell which side of the state budget debate people were on by reading their signs: “We support Sandoval,” one said. Another said: “Cuts hurt.”

While a packed house waited for its chance to speak to state legislators at a town hall meeting Saturday at the Grant Sawyer Building in downtown Las Vegas, about 100 people milled around outside the building, making their voices heard with signs and banners.

The plaza in front of the building was largely a staging area for the meeting inside, with different groups signing people in and organizers giving supporters their talking points for the meeting.

But not everyone went into the meeting; some came just to show their support for Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget, while others came to make their opposition known.

The two sides gathered close to one another and even intermingled, but remained calm and mostly quiet, with the brief exception of one man waving a large U.S. flag loudly telling a woman with a Nevada State College sign: “I’m not against education, I’m against raising taxes.”

Sandoval did not attend the town hall held by the Democratic leaders who run the Nevada Legislature. But his emerging leadership style was at the center of the occasionally boisterous meeting, where dozens of state employees, case workers and teachers slammed Sandoval's plan to close a $1.2 billion budget gap by slashing government services.

Sandoval, who was sworn in Jan. 3, unveiled his $5.8 billion general fund budget Monday. It calls for reducing K-12 spending by $270 per student and for cutting higher education costs by nearly 18 percent. The budget also proposes a 5 percent salary cuts for state workers and reduced sick leave and holiday pay.

Sandoval has said education is a priority, but he cannot increase school funding without raising taxes, which he insisted would hurt businesses. Nevada has the highest unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates in the nation.

North Las Vegas resident Linda Montoya, a self-described “tea party person,” said she came to Saturday's town hall meeting to support Sandoval's proposals.

“I think he’s keeping his promises,” she said. “He’s got to cut something.”

After living in Nevada for a dozen years, her kids moved out of state, taking her five grandchildren with them because “schools here suck,” she said. But there are plenty of ways to solve education problems without raising taxes, she said.

Matt Mitchell wasn’t so sure.

The 27-year-old grew up in Henderson, graduated from high school and then got a job.

“I was working in the casino business, but I wanted out,” he said. “It was fun, but I wanted more for myself.”

So he went to the Nevada State College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in May 2009. He has an office job he said he could not have gotten without the degree.

“I’m proof that the system works,” he said. He’s worried others are going to miss out because of Sandoval’s proposed cuts to education.

“It turned my life around, got me where I wanted to be and I want to give other people the same opportunity I had,” Mitchell said.

He’s not sure he’s going to be able to stay in Nevada.

“I like living here, but I’ve got to admit that it’s getting frustrating and things haven’t gotten better,” he said. “I’m ready to give up and be indifferent, not care and go someplace else.”

His friend Elan Andruss agreed.

“I would like to stay here,” Andruss said while holding a “My future depends on NSC” sign. “I love this city, it’s beautiful and I don’t want to have to leave … but if things keep going the way they are, I doubt I can stay here.”

Andruss, 21, grew up in Las Vegas, the son of two schoolteachers. He is going to NSC and hopes to become a teacher himself.

He’s worried that budget cuts will not only raise his tuition, but also decrease his parents’ income, which is helping him go to school full-time.

“I’m going to be able to scrape by and get that, but I know people who won’t,” he said. “These (are) hard-working, motivated people who are going against all odds to improve their lives … It’s not fair that someone should tell them the cuts mean they can’t get their degrees.”

Others agreed education needs to be improved, but said the governor’s budget is on the right track.

Bethany Jensen, who also has a parent who’s a teacher, recently graduated from UNLV, but she said the governor is right to make cuts.

“I think we spend way too much on everything,” she said. “The way to improve education is to stop forcing kids to go to school if they don’t want to and to increase discipline.”

Her mother, Jana Jensen, taught in Clark County schools full-time for 10 years and has been a substitute teacher for even longer, she said.

The School District needs to cut down on the number of administrators and increase the number of teachers, the elder Jensen said.

“I believe we can improve education without putting more money into it,” she said. “Money is not the problem. We’re so deep in debt in this country the last thing we need is more debt.”

A public budget hearing was also being held in Reno at the Washoe County commission chambers on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.