Sincerity doesn’t do much to pay state’s K-12 education bills

Just watch him as he looks into their eyes and tells Nevadans how much he cares about their children.

That Gov. Brian Sandoval is a very sincere guy.

He cares about their education. He cares about their health. He cares about their safety. He cares about their future.

In short, he just plain cares.

Sandoval reminded Nevadans how sincere he is on May 3, when he announced that the state's rising economic fortunes meant he was "pledging that nearly $270 million in new revenue will go directly to public education. Our kids come first. On that, there can be no debate. I have asked the Legislature to restore funding for class-size reduction, all-day kindergarten, classroom programs and extracurricular activities like music, sports and theater. I have also allocated $20 million for our colleges and universities."

That's what I'm talking about when I talk about sincere. Sandoval cares and contributes. Money for K-12 and what amounts to a large tip for higher education.

But what, you might ask, would be happening if Nevada's slow recovery had been more lethargic?

Would he have announced he cared a few million less?

Instead of essentially taking credit for Nevada's public education prospects climbing back to their laughable status quo, Sandoval would have been forced to explain that his caring didn't extend to making major businesses in the state uncomfortable by asking them to step up and support our struggling K-12 system.

"Some will say this is not enough," Sandoval said. "Yet they offer no plan for how to find additional money without harming the fragile economic recovery we now know Nevada is experiencing."

Although they're being criticized in some circles for starting too late, and blasted in others for requesting too much, Democratic leaders in the Legislature have forwarded their sincerely considered plan to massage the system to increase revenue without giving businesses or billionaires whiplash.

Turns out they care, too.

They want to boost spending by, gulp, $920 million more than Sandoval's proposed $6.1 billion budget. Chances are good Senate Majority Leader Steve Horsford and his colleagues won't get what they want, but it's likely their hope is to swap some revenue enhancement for some education reform. We will see whether Horsford earns the nickname "Horse Trade" or a less complimentary equine-related moniker.

In response to the Democrats' announcement, Sandoval politely and sincerely admonished Horsford and Assembly Speaker John Oceguera. He reminded them that the Silver State's delicate heart just can't take a tax increase: "Nevada is just beginning to demonstrate signs of economic recovery, and this proposal would bring job growth to a halt, at a time when we have proven that growing our way out of this crisis can address our budgetary needs."

If I may offer a suggestion from a splintered seat in the distant grandstands, it's clear that Nevada's political leaders, in their own way, are conveying the same message: We're all in this together.

The problem is simple. Some of us are more in this than others.

Sandoval, for instance, wouldn't dream of raising a tax to improve the quality of life of the least among us. He says he doesn't want to upset Nevada's delicate economic recovery.

But then there's Big Gold, its record prices and foreign ownership. Are we to believe Nevada's Big Gold mine operators can't afford more?

No one would expect a shift on gold taxes or its lusty list of write-offs to single-handedly balance the budget. But if the state's political leaders from both parties truly were focused on the people who actually live in this state, you might think they would be inclined to demand Big Gold to cough up more than excuses ­-- and the occasional prepayment of the relative pittance in taxes it pays.

In good times or bad, that's a definition of caring not found in some Nevada dictionaries.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.