NEVADA VIEWS: Time for Nevada’s elected leaders to lead

Nevada’s coronavirus economic crisis cannot be solved by making budget cuts alone. The severity of lost revenue has been projected at $1 billion to $2 billion over the next two years. What kind of cuts can we find in our budget to match that? Cuts of that nature will devastate our state and cause all kinds of hardships for the public.

Have we not learned from 2008? Did we not adopt legislation in 2011 (Assembly Bill 449) that said we need to build a new economy? Or are we going to continue to depend on two revenue streams that give us a drug high when they’re rolling but make everyone a victim when they crash?

Gov. Steve Sisolak said during the opening of the 2019 Legislature regarding revenue and our economy, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” COVID-19 has made it crystal clear: It’s not only broke, but it doesn’t serve the public well if we do not diversify our economy. We need to look at restructuring our antiquated revenue system. We also need to develop a strategic workforce development plan to attract new businesses that will come only if we have an educated workforce.

We need bipartisan leadership. Policy, not politics, should guide the discussion. Politicians need to stop making decisions based on their next election. Lobbyists should not decide Nevada’s future. Elected leaders must lead.

We need to ask: What role can state government play that is bold and visionary? We are at a moment in history, both nationally and in our state, where the public’s expectation of their government has changed. Not only does our government need to keep us safe and healthy, but it has an obligation to put people back to work while making sure new jobs are created. These must be jobs that are not dependent upon two industries, jobs that diversify our economy and attract businesses that want to invest in Nevada.

This will happen only if our leaders have the strength to have the tough discussions and make the right decisions to bring our state out of economic devastation. Budget cuts alone are a dead end. Our leaders must be strategic and aggressive.

We need to improve our health care delivery system where we have the best in the nation in terms of quality and access to care. And it needs to be affordable. That won’t happen with budget cuts. COVID-19 exposed our weak delivery system.

We need to take our K-12 public education system from last to first in the nation. That won’t happen with budget cuts. COVID-19 has exposed the digital divide in Nevada’s education system, and budget cuts would further exacerbate this inequity. A strategic workforce development plan starts first with investing in our public education system.

The Clark County Education Association made a decision that if leaders don’t lead, then the public will decide. The intent behind the CCEA’s initiative petitions, aimed at increasing taxes on the gaming industry and expanding the local school support tax, is to force a discussion about new revenue on a scale that our public education system really needs. We have been consistent with everyone we have spoken to: We are not wedded to these two taxes. We are wedded to finding new revenue for our schools at the level they need.

The CCEA has been actively involved in Nevada’s legislative process in the past several sessions. We supported incremental progress. But our students and our economy can no longer support such an approach. COVID-19 has ended that. We need to invest in workforce development to diversify our economy. The first step in doing so would be to adequately fund our public education system.

We need bold and visionary leaders willing to take risks and put us on a new path. Never again should our state experience the economic devastation of 2008 and 2020. Now is the time. The public demands it. Whether it’s in a special session or the 2021 session, the endgame should be the same.

John Vellardita is executive director of the Clark County Education Association.