Sandoval, Reid criticize education changes proposed by Gibbons

The cost-cutting plan unveiled by Gov. Jim Gibbons on Wednesday looks more like a long-shot political gambit than a legitimate reform effort, challengers and an analyst said Wednesday.

The Republican governor took aim at prominent conservative targets such as the teachers' union, education bureaucrats and legislative mandates that some say do little more than entangle Nevada students and teachers in red tape.

But one analyst said that if Gibbons were serious about an education overhaul, he wouldn't be proposing it now. Special sessions typically last no more than a few days and are focused on specific budget or legal issues, said Fred Lokken, a registered Republican and political science professor at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno.

"You can't ram something like that through in a day," Lokken said. "It is insane. It is inappropriate. It is not the time. It is not the place."

Lokken said proposals to decentralize and declutter education bureaucracy could be a hit with Republican primary voters. But he adds those same voters might see through Gibbons' approach.

"It is actually a desperate attempt to jump-start a campaign and have an issue," Lokken said. "He is trying to appeal to a conservative base" whose support he has lost.

In an interview, Gibbons said, "My goal is to improve the educational standing of Nevada. After 20 years of some of these mandated processes and programs, we are still at the bottom of the barrel."

Republican candidate Brian Sandoval said eliminating mandates for all-day kindergarten and small class sizes would cost the state jobs.

"It is an extremely bad idea to be laying off hundreds of teachers in a time of record unemployment in Nevada," he said.

Democratic candidate Rory Reid said the plan is pure political theater.

"Now that his back is up against the wall and his own political future is at risk, it looks to me like all he has done is taken the right-wing playbook off the shelf, dusted it off and written a press release," Reid said.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.