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Gibbons plans to veto bills quickly
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Updated: Feb. 25, 2010 | 11:32 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons won't try to create a constitutional battle between himself and the Legislature by waiting until lawmakers have gone home before he vetoes bills coming out of the current special session.
Gibbons intends to quickly veto bills like the one passed Thursday that would allow Nevada to apply for a $175 million federal education grant, his communications director Daniel Burns said Thursday.
Since Gibbons vowed to adjourn the Legislature at 11:59 p.m. Sunday and governors have five days to sign or veto bills, he conceivably could wait until Monday before following through on his pledge to veto that bill and any others he doesn't like.
With legislators gone from Carson City, they could not vote to override or sustain his vetoes until the beginning of the next regular session in February 2011.
"The governor wants to adjourn the session to save money," Burns said. "It has nothing to do with vetoes."
Lorne Malkiewich, the Legislature's top administrator, said legislators themselves want to adjourn by Sunday night, but if they cannot finish business by that deadline staff lawyers are confident they could go before the Supreme Court and justices would nullify the governor's adjournment deadline.
If legislators challenge the governor's right to adjourn them Sunday night, Malkiewich said, "we might have a constitutional crisis. But I think we all want to be done by Sunday."
Malkiewich said there have been discussions among legislators to recess the current, three-day-old special session for several days once they finish their work and then return after bills are vetoed so they can vote to override or sustain them. But they would not be necessary if the governor delivers his vetoes before Sunday.
Gibbons announced Wednesday night that he intends to veto Senate Bill 2, passed 16-5 in the Senate and 42-0 in the Assembly.
The bill repeals a 2003 state law that prevents the state from applying for a $175 million federal Race to the Top education grant.
Gibbons himself requested legislators repeal that law that prevents teachers from being evaluated on how their students perform on standardized tests.
But the bill approved by the Legislature does not say specifically that teachers can be judged on student performance, only that test results cannot be the "sole criterion" on which teachers are evaluated.
Burns contended that Gibbons' staff spoke with the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and, with the language in the bill, Nevada's application would be ranked lower when it comes to securing the competitive grant.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
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If you will be accoutantable for the idiotic shcool board , we will be glad be accountable for the student grades. Good luck to conquering incompetence.
PERSONALLY, I THINK THE TEACHERS SHOULD BE EVALUATED ON TEST SCORES, BUT MAKE IT A VERY SMALL PART OF THEIR EVALUATION. BECAUSE, IF THERE IS A LARGE NUMBER OF KIDS IN A PARTICULAR CLASS THAT IS NOT PASSING, THEN OBVIOUSLY THE TEACHER ISN'T DOING A VERY GOOD JOB AT TEACHING. IF IT'S ONLY A COUPLE KIDS, THEN IT'S MOST LIKELY THE PARENTS THAT AREN'T HELPING IN THE LEARNING PROCESS. BUT THOSE TEACHERS THAT ARE NOT TEACHING, LIKE THE ONE'S THAT ONLY ASSIGN BOOKS AND SIT AT THEIR DESKS ALL DAY AND DO NOTHING, SHOULD BE WEEDED OUT AND REPLACED. THESE KIDS NEED TO LEARN, AND YOU CAN'T ALWAYS BLAME THE PARENTS. TEACHERS ARE THERE TO "TEACH" AREN'T THEY?
Abolish_public_education
"Nobody cares how building contractors are evaluated, nor realtors, petroleum engineers, or pilots?"
Of course they do, that's why they are all licensed, the satisfaction of licensing requirements is how they are evaluated. Would you fly anywhere and not expect your pilot to be both licensed and evaluated?
Wherever there is money there will be politics, it's a fact of life and it will never change.
And do you really believe that the government is in control. It never has been, it's big business that is in control.
Abolish_public_education
Great ideas, the banks, healthcare, construction companies, realtors, oil companies and the airlines have all done such a great job in the private sector.
Trout, you said it all. Poor parenting seems to be the norm in Vegas. The attendance at back to school night says it all.
Depending on the high school, 10-25% of the kids actually show up regularly, do their assignments, and participate in classroom activities. Most just want to socialize and mark time until the day ends and they can talk and text.
We need to raise standards and expectations of both students and parents.
Here's a thought, test students when they enter a class and test them when they exit the class. The teacher can be regarded as the change agent and be evaluated on the change that they have made in a students ability.
Poor students who improve slightly can be assessed in the same way that good students can be if they improve slightly also. Measure the improvement!
It's also high time for parents and family members to take the initiative with the issue of education and to make sure that a) their children are prepared for their school experience and b) that their children do the homework set for them, attend school and behave while they are there.
Most kids are good kids, if they have a family that support and encourage them. Teachers ought not be expected to do the work that failing parents fall short on, they are not a child care service and all children should be at school to work.
Inadequate parenting leads to inadequate behavior which leads to inadequate achievement.