Regents to discuss firefighting academy

CARSON CITY -- The state's university regents, trying to cope with budget woes, will consider a proposal at their August meeting in Reno to shut down a debt-laden firefighting academy in eastern Nevada.

As an alternative to closing the Fire Science Academy near Carlin, regents will discuss at their Aug. 7-8 meeting partnering with industries that are major clients of the school.

The plans will be detailed by University of Nevada, Reno president Milton Glick, who got a report on the academy's grim status from a special panel chaired by former Gov. Kenny Guinn. That panel recommends closing the school.

The report notes that the fire academy has a long-term capital debt of $27.1 million, which is being paid off through student fees. The school also faces operating and construction repair deficits totaling $12 million. Costs of closing the school after this season could run another $3.5 million.

The report says the academy is well run and recognized internationally for its firefighting training, but it has a business plan that was "fatally flawed from the outset with unrealistic cost, enrollment and revenue projections."

"While we wish our recommendation to close the FSA could be otherwise, we believe it to be in the best long-term interests of the university, the Nevada System of Higher Education, present and future students and the taxpayers of Nevada," the report states.

The document says panel members were "especially disappointed" with a decision to generate funding for the academy with a $6.50 per-credit fee on university students, or nearly $200 a year, "for a facility they will probably never even see, much less utilize."

After the advisory panel's report came out, it was shared with major companies that utilize the academy for training industrial firefighters. That led to the alternative of asking those companies for help.