Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Senator takes aim at Nevada State College at Henderson

Barbara Cegavske Republican senator wants Henderson college closed to save money

CARSON CITY -- A state lawmaker said Monday the newly established Nevada State College at Henderson should be closed and the programs transferred to other campuses to save money.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said the college is not serving an adequate number of students for the money it is costing the state.

In a time of financial difficulties, and when there are so many other demands on the University and Community College System of Nevada, the continued existence of the college must be questioned, she said.

"We have to look at ways to be more cost effective," Cegavske said.

The idea has generated some public and lawmaker support, although Cegavske said she has not tallied votes in the Legislature.

Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, also has suggested the college be closed to save money.

But any such proposal faces strong opposition from Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, who has worked for years to establish the college.

The college will withstand any budget review or scrutiny, he said. It will educate new teachers and nurses more cheaply than the two universities, Perkins said.

Cegavske, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said research is still being gathered to determine the best way to seek the elimination of the college, which opened to students for the first time in the fall.

The two options are through the budget review process or a separate bill draft, she said.

A recent report from the university system to lawmakers shows that professors at the college have significantly lighter teaching workloads than full-time instructors at the state's other public colleges and universities.

Cegavske questioned how that can be allowed to continue, given Gov. Kenny Guinn's projection that he needs $700 million in new tax revenue just to pay for growth in programs in his 2003-05 budget.

Cegavske said her proposal would allow for the transfer of staff and students to either the Community College of Southern Nevada, which has a Henderson campus, or the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

But Jane Nichols, chancellor of the university system, said the college is just getting started, and workload comparisons with established campuses are unfair. The college had no start-up funding, she said.

Nichols said closing the college will cost money in the long run because more faculty would have to be hired at the two universities at a higher cost. Students would have to pay more in fees, and a 550-acre site in Henderson for the college would have to be returned to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, she said.

"It is the opposite of a fiscal austerity measure," Nichols said. "Long term, this college represents the best savings for the state for higher education. It was created for that purpose."