Southern Nevada shortchanged, chancellor argues
The College of Southern Nevada gets half the money from the state, per student, that Great Basin College gets.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas gets nearly 20 percent less, per student, than the University of Nevada, Reno does from the state.
These facts, while not new, are highlighted in this week's memo from higher education Chancellor Jim Rogers to the Board of Regents. The memo is scheduled for release this morning.
The memo is the 44th in a series of weekly memos in which Rogers primarily has been compiling an argument against state budget cuts.
This one makes the argument that Southern Nevada higher education institutions need more money.
"It's my job to lay all the problems out there," Rogers said. "You can't do anything about it if you don't know what the problems are."
Though Rogers' memos are addressed to the board, they are really targeted at legislators -- those in charge of the purse strings.
Because of severely declining revenues, all state agencies are expected to endure cuts of 14 percent or more in the coming two-year cycle. The Legislature convenes next month.
Rogers estimated the higher education system would need another $100 million a year to bring UNLV and CSN funding up to par with institutions in Northern Nevada. But he stressed that he is not trying to pit the south against the north.
"This is not an attack on UNR," said Gerry Bomotti, UNLV's senior vice president for finance and business and one of the memo's authors.
The underfunding of the Southern Nevada institutions is blamed on their relative youth and fast growth.
The university system has an overall operating budget of more than $800 million -- about 70 percent from the state and the rest from various student tuition and fees.
The memo makes the case that to bring UNLV and CSN up to par with northern institutions, each would need an additional $50 million a year.
Such an influx of cash -- clearly unlikely in the near future -- would not bring them up to the national average. Historically, Nevada's higher education institutions have been funded at about 85 percent of what similar institutions in other states get.
Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.
