Editorials

The Las Vegas Valley has a growing population of more than 2 million, yet the only allopathic medical school in the state is 450 miles away in Reno, a city with a population of about 234,000.

Drilling “the rich” with ever-higher taxes is problematic because there aren’t nearly enough wealthy people to pay for everything government wants. President Barack Obama finally has figured this out. But instead of reining in government, he tried to go where the big money is: the middle class.

If Gov. Brian Sandoval and state lawmakers are serious about pushing Nevada’s economy into the 21st century and putting more people to work, they’ll follow the lead of Portsmouth, N.H., and Arizona taxi regulators.

No matter how much the Legislature has on its plate, no matter how important and deep the agendas of party leaders, lawmakers can count on government figures asking for more power to limit public access to public business.

The 2015 regular session of the Nevada Legislature starts Monday, but we can make a pretty safe prediction about how it will end June 1: in a rush that keeps the public in the dark.

A sure sign that government lacks accountability: When public officials use taxpayer resources to shoot the messengers of news they don’t want to hear.

School accountability has improved in Nevada in recent years. High-performing schools can be rewarded with more autonomy, while low-performing schools can be hit with a “turnaround” designation that requires administrative and staff replacements. And teacher tenure has been reformed to make it possible to push ineffective instructors out of public education.

Talk about moving the goal posts. City Hall is determined to subsidize a downtown soccer stadium the public doesn’t want to pay for. So determined, in fact, that city officials are actively working to deny voters the opportunity to kill the project.

It can’t be said enough: Money alone will not improve K-12 education in Nevada or anywhere else. Reforms to public education systems have to be part of any plan to raise student achievement and better train future generations of workers. And no reform is more important or effective than promoting educational competition through school choice.

Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature can go beyond education savings accounts to promote universal school choice in Nevada. Many families, especially low-income households, will need funds beyond what ESAs can provide to pay for the best educational fit for their children.