Gibbons to consider windfall for education

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons said Tuesday he might consider an assemblywoman's suggestion that he use a $40 million windfall to reduce the public education budget cuts he ordered.

"I have no problem with doing that," Gibbons said after a meeting of the state Board of Examiners. "We certainly will consider it, but there are a lot of demands for revenue."

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, suggested on Monday that Gibbons use the $40 million in revenue discovered last week by state Treasurer Kate Marshall to reduce the $92 million in cuts he imposed on public education in January.

Marshall found the excess revenue from an unexpected increase in the unclaimed property fund and by savings in bond sale costs.

The proposal was applauded Tuesday by Walt Rulffes, superintendent of the Clark County School District.

He said he thinks a lot of state agencies will compete for that $40 million, but he hopes public schools will be given top consideration.

"We had a commitment from the governor and State Budget Director Andrew Clinger that if money became available, they would reconsider the (public school) cuts," Rulffes said.

He said if the district was given the money, it wouldn't have to make such dramatic cuts in maintenance and support staff positions, or cut back as much on the bus transportation program, which more students to walk to school.

Even though he cut public education spending by 4.5 percent, Gibbons said spending on education during the current budget cycle is 15.6 percent higher than the previous budget period.

He did not specify where school boards should cut their spending. But he suggested they could save $64 million by not starting programs like his own educational empowerment plan and expanding full-day kindergarten classes. That would leave school boards with $28 million to cut, or 1.5 percent of their budgets.

If he used the windfall to cover that cost, school boards would not have to cut existing budgets.

"We will look into it," Gibbons said. "But the deficit is going to continue to grow until the economy turns around."

Smith said it "just makes sense" for the governor to reduce the cuts on public education.

She said it is important for the governor to do something quickly because schools must cut nearly $30 million in per pupil expenditures by the end of the current school year.

"It is all in per pupil spending," Smith said. "This year is critical."

Gibbons cut state spending by $565 million in January because state receipts of sales and other tax revenue was falling far below the projections on which he based the $6.8 billion state budget.

The latest report on gaming taxes, released on Tuesday, shows the state has received $436 million in these taxes since July, or $31 million less than projected.