Legislators call for reform of higher ed system following email revelations

Legislators and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce are calling for action following revelations that the Nevada System of Higher Education worked to undermine the Legislature’s effort to reform college and university funding models.

The Review-Journal reported Sunday that hundreds of emails reviewed by the paper from November 2011 and September 2012 showed the system worked to control an interim legislative committee’s effort to redo the state’s funding formula, which had long been criticized as unfair and nearly impossible to understand.

Former state Senate majority leader Steven Horsford, who chaired the committee, called the emails an affront to the political process and a wakeup call for change.

Chancellor Dan Klaich defended his conduct with the committee in a statement last week. The emails, he said, “reveal the intense and detailed work on my part, NSHE staff and its institutions in developing a funding formula proposal that would address, as fairly and equitably as possible, the diverse needs of the institutions and the students.”

Legislators view the emails as reflective of a longstanding animosity they’ve felt from the system, which hampers them from doing their jobs.

“All of this is an attack on the process, and we need to take steps to ensure we have the capacity to supervise the system,” said Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, D-Las Vegas, who noted he plans to reach out to the system for answers. “I’ve always had nonarticulated distrust of what I was being told. I have always felt I was being stopped from advocating for my constituents. These emails I think vindicate those nonarticulated suspicions.”

Horsford had expressed concern at the time over the system’s relationship with a think tank it had hired to provide information to the committee. The system hired the think tank — the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems — after it lost the bid to become the Legislature’s consultant.

Horsford said he repeatedly asked for information about the relationship and was livid to learn the relationship was so cozy that the think tank let the system write a memo on its letterhead to answer questions the committee had about its research.

Klaich characterized Horsford’s confusion about the system and the think tank’s relationship as a misunderstanding. Horsford was firm: There was no misunderstanding.

“NSHE has always been difficult to get a straight answer from,” said Assembly Speaker John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, who said there was bipartisan frustration and concern with NSHE. “They are funded by taxpayer dollars and we are stewards of those monies. We need to get good answers and responsible answers.”

The Legislature has long faced obstacles when trying to put requirements on the system, which argues it is independent per the Nevada Constitution. It’s maddening for legislators, who say they’ve only got 120 days, limited staff and not enough time to fact-check everything.

The NSHE emails also are cause for deep concern for the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, which was involved in the funding formula reform. Chamber spokeswoman Cara Clarke said the governor or Legislature should consider calling for an outside inquiry.

“I think there needs to be an in-depth look at the facts here, both in terms of how people in NSHE conduct themselves but how are taxpayer dollars being spent. Were taxpayer dollars used to deceive legislators?” Clarke said. “It’s a very interesting use of taxpayer dollars to fight the Legislature with taxpayer dollars. You really should be working with the Legislature on finding a formula that is fair to students.”

Anderson and other legislators said they’re interested in looking at broad reform, to include possibly changing the constitution.

“I think everything has to be on the table. I know people have talked about a constitutional amendment to take the board of regents out of the constitution so we can reform them like we would any other agency,” said Assemblyman David Gardner, R-Las Vegas, who along with Assemblyman Stephen Silberkraus, R-Henderson, has made NSHE reform a priority.

Silberkraus said when he and Gardner began looking at reforming higher education, they anticpated fixing some stumbling blocks.

“As we are going on, it looks more like roadblocks, things that are fundamentally flawed and need major change,” he said.

Gardner said the scandal was particularly troubling considering how the system handled a previous scandal involving the same think tank.

The Review-Journal reported in 2015 that the think tank had buried a negative assessment of the system after officials expressed fear it would be used to “bludgeon” the agency at a time when a legislative committee was considering breaking up the system.

The regents hired an attorney to investigate. The investigation found Klaich feared the report could cost him his job, but that researchers had softened findings on their own.

“It looked worthless to me. It looked like they were just trying to whitewash the situation,” Gardner said.

Assemblyman Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas, said he would like to revive an effort that died in committee last session: setting up a state inspector general’s office.

“Frankly the Legislature is the one who funds these guys, and the Legislature went way out of its way to help NSHE, to the point where some people put their political careers on the line. If this is what they are doing behind the scenes, they owe us one heck of a big explanation,” Edwards said. “Why are we paying all these people so much money to be experts and then they have to hire consultants to do their job for them? Why are the taxpayers being double taxed?”

Meanwhile, before the Review-Journal story, many already were pushing to reform the funding formula, saying inequities persist.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Lincy Institute concluded in 2014 that disparities legislators wanted to address remain a problem. In his statement, Klaich said the Legislature had accomplished its goal of creating a more equitable formula.

Gov. Brian Sandoval released a statement through a spokeswoman that read: “The funding formula that was passed by the Legislature after much debate appears to be addressing many of the transparency and equity issues originally brought up prior to the time the committee was convened. The Governor will continue to work with the chancellor, regents, and legislators to improve our universities and colleges.”

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes