Spending on colleges has cushion

CARSON CITY -- If Gov. Jim Gibbons follows through with millions in proposed cuts to higher education, the state's university system would still come out ahead financially compared to the previous budget, according to a state report released Friday.

The Nevada Legislative Appropriations report shows that even if Gibbons cuts university and college spending by $64 million, higher education still would have $103 million more, a 9 percent increase, to spend than at this time two years ago.

"It is a significant increase in spending over previous years, even after the 5 percent budget reduction," said Melissa Subbotin, Gibbons' press secretary. "We are still growing the budget."

When Gov. Jim Gibbons announced Oct. 15 that he wanted the Higher Education System of Nevada to show how it would cut its spending by $64 million because tax revenues had fallen below expectations, Chancellor Jim Rogers dug in his heels.

"We can't do it," said Rogers, who vowed not to preside over the destruction of the university system.

Public education, the prisons system and public safety agencies were spared from Gibbons' cut request.

The appropriation report points out in detail what Gibbons and legislators did financially during the legislative session that ended in June. And what they did was increase Higher Education System spending to $1.316 billion for the 2007-09 budget period, or $167 million more than the $1.149 billion expenditure approved for the 2005-07 budget.

While Nevada may be suffering through a period of declining sales and gaming tax revenues, legislators and the governor approved a $6.802 billion budget plan that represented a $977 million budget increase over the previous $5.825 billion two-year budget. That represents a 14 percent spending increase.

The Appropriations Report will be available at the Legislature's Web site, http://www.leg.state.nv.us/, on Monday.