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Nov. 20, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Initiative to raise gaming tax filed

State's biggest teachers union to start collecting signatures

By ANTONIO PLANAS and ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, talks at a news conference Monday in Las Vegas about plans to get an initiative to raise the gaming tax on the ballot.
Photo by Marlene Karas/Review-Journal

Nevada's largest teachers union has launched its initiative targeting the state's gaming industry in an effort to get more funding for public schools.

The Nevada State Education Association submitted its petition to the secretary of state Monday. The proposal would raise the gaming tax on Nevada's largest casinos to 9.75 percent, from 6.75 percent. The union estimates that an additional $250 million per year, although others contend $400 million is more accurate, could be used for public schools and teacher raises.

The higher tax would apply only to casinos that make more than $1 million a month in gaming revenue.

Lynn Warne, president of NSEA, said the tax hike would go toward raises for teachers and efforts to improve the education of Nevada's K-12 students, such as additional days of instruction. She said at a news conference Monday morning that educators throughout Nevada are tired of getting by in a state that consistently ranks near the bottom for the amount of money it spends on educating students.

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    • "We can no longer wait for better raises or smaller class sizes or better learning conditions for our kids," Warne said. "We've had enough of the empty promises, and we're ready to make things happen on our own."

    The union's next step is to gather 58,628 signatures by May. 20. Warne wouldn't specify how the union will go about gathering the signatures or how much the campaign, called Save our Schools with Additional Funding, will cost. But she said the union will use its 28,000 members to achieve its goal.

    Because the petition would amend the state constitution, voters must approve it during the 2008 and 2010 elections. If passed in both elections, the higher tax would go into effect in 2011.

    MGM Mirage spokesman Gordon Absher said the gaming industry position on the initiative was outlined Thursday in a speech company Chairman Terry Lanni made to the Nevada Development Authority.

    Lanni acknowledged the need for additional money for public education but said it should come in the form of a tax paid by many different types of businesses, not just a single industry.

    "The time came long ago for the establishment of a business tax paid by every large business that benefits from operating in this state," he said.

    Lanni outlined how the gaming tax increase sought by the union would lead to reduced investment in gaming properties in Nevada and could hurt future development.

    "We've made this enormous investment here in Nevada, not in New York or Chicago, not in London or Hong Kong, not in Atlantic City or Macau, but right here in Las Vegas," Lanni said.

    Although Warne said research shows the 3 percentage point increase would bring in "conservatively" $250 million a year, the current tax contributes more than $900 million a year.

    At that rate, a 3 percentage point hike would reap more than $400 million a year. The return would be even higher when the tax first would be collected in 2011 because casinos are adding 40,000 additional rooms in Las Vegas.

    The NSEA petition says 40 percent of the tax hike will be used to add more school days, reduce overcrowding and provide additional training for teachers. Another 40 percent will be used to pay for the salaries and benefits of school employees, excluding administrators. The remaining 20 percent will be used for an incentive pay program for teachers.

    Warne wouldn't specify how that teacher incentive program would work, how much teachers would receive in salary increases and how many additional school days would be added.

    The petition says the Nevada Gaming Commission would impose the tax hike on casinos on a monthly basis. The commission would then transfer the tax proceeds to the state treasurer. The treasurer would then deposit the proceeds into a fund overseen by Nevada's superintendent.

    Nevada's superintendent would distribute funds to the state's school districts and its charter schools, the petition says.

    Jim Penrose, NSEA's legal counsel, expects the gaming industry or an organization on its behalf to file a legal challenge to the petition. He said challenges to the petition's language must be filed by Dec. 12.

    Gloria Dopf, the state's deputy superintendent of public instruction, said the Nevada Department of Education hasn't taken a position on the NSEA initiative yet.

    Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes is opposed to the proposal. Rulffes said he doesn't think one industry should shoulder tax hikes.

    "Taxes should be spread in a fair and equitable way to all those who benefit from them," he said.

    Rulffes said he's also concerned that the initiative, if it qualifies for the 2008 ballot, might confuse voters and dissuade them from voting for the district's school construction bond measure. The district passed a 10-year bond in 1998 worth $3.5 billion to complete 88 new schools, although it is expected to complete 100 new schools.

    Rulffes said many other ballot initiatives might also be placed before voters in 2008.

    "This could be a very confusing election," he said.

    Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 799-2922. Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3901.



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    joe wrote on November 20, 2007 06:41 PM: Teachers work approximately 75% of the year, while the rest of us work 98% of it. Many teachers do not even hold college degrees, yet if they put in enough years, they get a PERS pension vested after only 5 years of service, a salary in the mid 60's if they obtain a Master's Degree, and 3 months off per year.
    Teachers have it better than any other workers out there.


    Steve wrote on November 20, 2007 06:24 PM: Travis,

    Who, exactly, is going to say who is "phenomenally motivating and inspiring" and who is a waste of time? The union blocks firing all teachers regardless of how inept they are. Are we supposed to let the union decide who?


    Travis wrote on November 20, 2007 06:11 PM: Steve, what about the phenomenally motivating and inspiring teacher's that have left this district because of the inadequate salary? If there was a surplus of qualified applicants, then the district could be much more picky in whom they hire. This would clearly be to the benefit of all students.


    grumpy wrote on November 20, 2007 04:43 PM: Ahhhh, 21st century public schools! Here's a thought: Why not halt all funding for public education (higher education excluded) and privatize the system? The tax relief would be welcome and with no public funding, the private sector will respond with affordable high-quality education. True, those on the lowest end of the economic spectrum might have problems paying for this, but as a rule, this segment of society has no use for education in the first place as their (so-called) kids are out and about causing mischief (or worse!)instead of getting an education. (This would explain why poverty endures, despite the bounty and opportunity that abounds all around.)


    ths wrote on November 20, 2007 04:40 PM: A broad based business tax still taxes the casinos and fixes the larger problem of a tax in a cyclical market.

    The failure of us as citizens to elect the government that would diverse our economy is to blame. The casinos damaged, damage the economy.

    A broad based business tax would still be adding burden to the casinos in the non gaming revenue. With broad based business tax they would not be scurting additional taxes. Instead we actually get to dip into those currently lesser taxed revenues while ensuring other businesses now pay as well.


    Steve wrote on November 20, 2007 01:38 PM: If you read the statements by the jack-booted thugs calling themselves the union, then you will notice that the FIRST thing in every sentence is PAY RAISES. The first 40% is for pay raises, the last 20% is for pay raises in the form of "incentive pay", the the middle 40% is for teacher vacations which the union named "additional training". If they had one iota of concern for "the children" or even for education, their first, middle, and last use of these unnecessary funds would be for more schools, teachers who can and will actually teach, etc. The very last thing they should be concerned with is more pay for the inept morons they currently call teachers.


    patriot wrote on November 20, 2007 12:00 PM: And who will grade the teachers? the students be real, first off of course grades are down. You keep bringing in unschooled illegals filling our schools daily what do you expect. But since its the hotels that urge them to come here to labor for the casinos, let the casinos pay and pay and pay!!!!!!!!


    Phil wrote on November 20, 2007 11:15 AM: For education bashers like Marion and oldlawdog, education unions are put in place to help make changes for the sake of education. I know that nothing that I write can change your minds about this. I have seen unions/education associations help lousy teachers. However, I have seen them also try to help improve working conditions for teachers as a group.
    I will be the first teacher to be graded on my work and paid for my performance if we do the same thing to our elected officials on all levels.


    Phil wrote on November 20, 2007 11:09 AM: It is about time that the #1 industry in this state is appropriately taxed. This year, casinos have recorded record profits in non-gaming over gaming revenue. The gaming industry has benefited from a weak tax base for decades. As citizens, we don't even benefit from the casinos anymore; show prices have skyrocketed and the days of inexpesive dining is a thing of the past.
    The Casinos of old are being imploded are rebuilt as megaresorts owned by huge corporations who are shelling out much more in taxes in other locations. This makes the argument that these corporations won't invest in Nevada over a lousy 3% increase full of nonsense.
    As a teacher, I have worked with lower class sizes and have seen first hand the benefits to the student achievement. Without even touching teachers' salaries, smaller class sizes improve working conditions for teachers and creates a better learning environment for students.
    Increased salaries will allow the state to retain the best teachers. Too many teachers are scraping by; inexpensive housing and plentiful jobs caused teachers to flock here in the past. Now, there is no reason for them to come here. By not having to rush to a 2nd job, teachers can spend more time diagosing what their students are stuggling with and determine what need to be retaught.
    As far as taxing the gaming industry versus other industries/businesses, I see more and more students who come here because their parents work in the casinos. They didn't come here from California or Mexico to work for Wal-Mart or Bank of America. The gaming industry shoulders most of the blame for our growth and they should be shouldered with the taxes to pay for services.


    Marion Bills wrote on November 20, 2007 09:46 AM: Pour all the money you want into more funding for education and you will get the same result we have been getting for years. The Dumbing Down of our students by inept teachers being protected by the Teachers Union. The union is the worst thing that has ever happened to education for our kids. No teacher can be graded for results, no teacher can be fired for producing idealogical opinions instead of teaching facts and all teachers receive the same pay for their grade. In other industries all employees are paid by what they do and accomplish. All our current education system does is dumb down America. I say fire the union and grade teachers for what they do. Then and only then will our education system produce results.


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