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Democrats reject education spending cuts
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
CARSON CITY -- Democratic lawmakers used the accounting equivalent of casino markers to raise the stakes in the state budget debate by about $650 million on Tuesday.
During a contentious joint meeting of Senate and Assembly money committees, Democrats in the majority rejected major K-12 education spending cuts proposed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval in his 2011-13 state budget but didn't put money on the table to pay for the changes.
On party line votes, the Democratic majority rejected proposals to cut school employees' pay by 5 percent, freeze merit pay increases for teachers and lift restrictions on school construction bond reserves so the money can be spent in the classroom.
The result was to widen the gap between Sandoval's budget proposal, which doesn't include tax or fee increases, and programs and diversions Democrats want to change to about $650 million, a number that could increase in coming days as the Legislature rolls out higher education and social service proposals.
"Our goal is to decide what our priorities are and what we need to fund," said Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, chairwoman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
But the Democrats' decision to reject major pieces of Sandoval's budget before unveiling any sort of tax plan to fund the priorities frustrated Republicans, who have stood behind the governor's refusal to consider tax or fee increases.
"If they are going to ask us to come in and spend a bunch of money and not identify where they are getting it from, that is a joke," said Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno.
Democrats haven't identified where they would get money to pay for their plan, but they've held closed-door discussions with business leaders to discuss the possibility of extending the expiration date on about $650 million in taxes and adding a sales tax on services or franchise tax.
Proposals discussed could be worth up to $1.4 billion, sources familiar with the talks have said.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, and Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, are scheduled to give a presentation Thursday in Carson City on "potential solutions to Nevada's budget shortfalls" but have not revealed specific proposals.
Democrats need a two-thirds majority to raise taxes, something they can't achieve without Republican help. Republicans can't approve Sandoval's budget unless Democrats defect.
The debate Tuesday on Day 87 of the 120-day legislative session marked the first time Democrats openly discussed major spending ideas while Republicans stood behind Sandoval.
"Today is like the first day of session," Republican political consultant Pete Ernaut said. "The first real day of session."
At issue was general fund spending from the state's distributive schools account, which stood at about $2.2 billion in Sandoval's original budget.
At the start of the meeting, Sandoval Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert and Budget Director Andrew Clinger said new money from increased projections from sales and other tax revenues would add about $241 million to the fund.
Sandoval's plan for the money was to restore basic support, or per-pupil funding, by 94 percent, restore full-day kindergarten funding and replace money used to maintain smaller class sizes.
"There is no reason to lay off any teachers; all the programs should be reinstated," Gansert said.
The legislators, voting on party lines, then rejected several Sandoval proposals, including the school worker pay cut that would have saved $256.5 million, the merit pay freeze for teachers that would have saved $142.6 million and a diversion of school construction bond reserves worth about $247 million.
"I don't think teachers need to be the only ones to step up and take it one more time," Horsford said. "We all need to step up and take it one more time."
The committee did approve Sandoval's plan to require teachers to contribute to their retirement plans, which saved about $200.9 million.
Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.
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@Slam Dunk: You can't be serious. You're suggesting that I take a course in economics? Perhaps if I attended the Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky School of Economics, as you did, I could agree with you. What resulted in the Great Depression of 1929 was the manipulations of the Federal Reserve, and all done with a specific goal in mind. Maybe YOU should take history courses.
Gary wrote,"Raising taxes in a depression would wreak catastrophic results." Take an economic course. Your statement does not hold weight in research. President Hoover just cut government and that resulted in the Great Depression. Governor Gibbons and Sandoval just cut government with Nevada having the highest unemployment and sluggish growth.
@Troutslayer: Maybe if schools distributed their allotments more wisely the teachers could obtain the COLA they need. There's no doubt that school districts are overly top heavy with administrators, vice principles, asst. vice principles, and many more positions that don't teach. We could also abolish the NEA in Washington. This Carter era boondoggle sucks-up $77 BILLION, (with a B!), of our taxes yearly. And all for WHAT?
It's apparent they're high on Chutzpah, but short on brains. Raising taxes in a depression would wreak catastrophic results. Nevada will eventually look like Bangladesh if these ignoramuses think they can tax us into prosperity.
Hey, let's cut the teachers pay some more! Steve Wynn needs another tax cut!
I sure hope ignorance is bliss, because if it isn't some of your lives must really suck. This is not about Dems or Reps, it is about Nevadans. The Gov's plan is not a plan, it is at best smoke and mirrors. He wants to steal from the counties, bond money from the school districts, and borrow from future. Wow, what a game plan. NOT! I think once the Gov gets real about things then the Dems will come up with something, but not until. What really should have is that the Legislature should do what is best for Nevada, and it isn't cut, cut, cut. Even the Gov admitted to that last night in his speech. We need reform in education and in other areas, but wholesale chop-chop is not the way to go about it. Stop all the bureaucratic garbage that goes on in education and let the teachers teach. What a novel concept. Revamp and broaden the tax system, which should have been done years ago. Get mining and gaming to the table to make real contributions. Mining and Gaming use and wear down our infrastructure more than any other, so they should be made to pay the greatest share. By the way room tax, a lot of sales and use tax, live entertainment, and other taxes are paid by out of towners, so exactly why are most of you bellyaching? There is no individual income tax in Nevada, so why are you crying? Everybody needs to pony up. state workers pay part of your salaries and part of their own by buying goods and paying taxes, can you say the same?? State workers contribute into their retirement much like you do into your 401k, so what is your beef? State workers have taken it in the shorts to about 25-30% overall decrease per year, because they take a 5% pay cut, 4x times more expensive benefits that are worth less everytime, No merit increases even if they earn them, no COLAs to keep pace with inflation (which they didn't do even when they got them). So, folks lets work together to solve the problems and stop all the whinning.
Teachers have taken a hit every year for the past 11 years. They have not gotten a pay increase that was equal to the inflation rate in 111 years, so every teacher has taken a pay cut to teach in this as*hole state. The gene pool is so shallow - no wonder there are still Republitards out there. Teachers have shared the burden this year last year and all the "Good" years. Enough all ready.
Voters reject democrats.
Tax and spend.
If that doesn't work, then tax and spend MORE!
There must be SOMEBODY they can tax they haven't thought of . . .
Of course democrats are against cutting the education budget. It hides to many fools, including them. If people were to quit public education and go on the world wide web and take courses to educate themselves and their kids, they might actually learn something useful. Very scary for the politician, they may even learn to think for themselves - an realize there must actually be qualifications to accept office if you win....Of course that would put most of their current representation out of work. At the political level it still appears to be the Code of the Pirate; "Take all you can and leave nothing on the table."