Taxpayers must invest more to ensure future prosperity

We write to express our alarm at the proposed budget cuts to K-12 schools and higher education and to affirm our support of Chancellor Jim Rogers' leadership in finding solutions.

Two weeks ago, as reported in your newspaper, Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley, and Sue Lowden, chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party, said in a joint written statement that "Jim Rogers owes every caring parent in the state a public apology."

We do not believe that Rogers has denigrated the parents of this state. Rather, Rogers argued, as we have done, that all Nevada citizens and parents must recommit to Nevada's long-term future by making sure that public education is not crippled by budget cuts. Chancellor Rogers has asked all parents to think carefully about Nevada's future, and not just focus on the short-term. Even during a budget crisis, kids deserve that their parents focus on their futures.

To get out of this economic crisis, we must come together. With all due respect, we do not believe that Goedhart's and Lowden's comments are constructive; they misconstrue Rogers' basic message. We all should be able to agree is that it does not make sense to cut investment in education so much that both K-12 and higher education become crippled.

Already Nevada invests less than most other states in education, ranking 43rd in per-pupil funding in 2006. The most recent statistics for high school dropouts place Nevada dead last. Teachers, who are already overworked, are being asked to take a deep pay cut. Class sizes are increasing. Curriculum is being cut at the same time that test scores disappoint. In 2007, only 40 percent of the Clark County School District's third- through eighth-graders passed math and English benchmarks; in middle school, half failed math tests.

In the past five years, school districts have worked hard to improve. What progress has been made is now in jeopardy. The most promising programs that helped address tough problems, such as high school dropouts and parental involvement in children's education, already have been cut, and those left standing are teetering and will likely get the ax.

Education is the future. After this economic downturn, it is clear that Nevada should diversify its economic base. Two years ago, Rogers proposed that Nevada invest in public health. The Legislature responded positively by making an initial modest investment in a university public health center. The university could anchor the development of a strong public health service industry that would complement the hospitality industry. But such a promising future will come to fruition only if Nevadans have the foresight to continue to make consistent and sustained investments in education.

The university system has prospered under Jim Rogers' leadership. Current criticism distracts from the big picture. This is a critical time. Nevadans cannot afford drastic and deep cuts to education.

Kyle Ethelbah, Sylvia R. Lazos and Porter Troutman are co-chairs of the Southern Nevada Diversity Roundtable, an umbrella group for community organizations interested in education that includes the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Nevada chapter of the NAACP, the Urban Chamber of Commerce and the Urban League.