New education cuts still mystery

CARSON CITY -- Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Keith Rheault said Thursday he still has no idea what cuts Gov. Jim Gibbons will request of public education as he tries to manage a growing state budget deficit.

"There is no good way to do it," Rheault told the Legislative Committee on Education. "The easiest cuts have been made."

Gibbons is expected to outline Monday what steps must be taken to deal with a revenue shortfall that now approaches $800 million.

In January he ordered state agencies to cut their spending by 4.5 percent to handle a shortfall then estimated at $565 million.

At that time, public schools were ordered to cut their spending by a combined $92 million.

About $63 million of the cuts were made by postponing the start of the education empowerment program, a performance pay plan, the expansion of full-day kindergarten and other programs.

The state's 17 school districts were told to come up with the remaining $29 million -- about 1.2 percent of the state appropriations -- by April 30. The Clark County School District must cut its spending by almost $20 million.

Rheault said he still does not know yet what individual school districts will do to handle those first cuts, although it might include getting rid of teacher aides and other support personnel.

The school superintendent explained he was not suggesting that the initial cuts schools are making have been "easy." But they will be easy compared to another round of cuts that school districts may be asked to make, he said.

He said that already his agency had no choice but to end legislative-approved plans to hire a gifted and talented student coordinator and a parental involvement director.

"This is so disheartening," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City. "We worked so hard to get these positions and now it has come to this."

In an interview, state Deputy Superintendent Jim Wells said if Gibbons ordered across-the-board cuts of $200 million, then public education's share would be $65 million to $70 million.

That would be about 6 percent of the $1.1 billion appropriation that schools were projected to receive in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

But Wells emphasized schools also directly receive sales taxes and property taxes so the overall hit they take would be far less than the 6 percent reduction of state appropriations.

Wells said it is his understanding that Gibbons will not try to block a 4 percent scheduled salary increase for teachers and other school personnel July 1. The salary increase alone costs $184 million.

A state Supreme Court decision back in 1992 prevented then-Gov. Bob Miller from doing away with a scheduled salary increase for state employees. Because he could not reduce the salary increase, Miller had to lay off 236 employees.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3901.