public schools

Why has the latest version of the City Center project been crafted outside of public view?

The city's recent announcement states the project is now $28 million (excluding interest expense), replacing the $49 million (excluding interest) proposed in September 2011 primarily because the multi-level parking garage has been removed.

The public doesn't know who came up with this abrupt change. However, we do know there were no public meetings about this project shift and the Nugget/City Center Advisory Committee hasn't met since August 2011.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today named James Guthrie, currently the senior fellow and director of education policy studies at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, as Nevada’s new public schools chief.

CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers today moved forward with a review of the state’s 45-year-old formula for funding public education after receiving $125,000 from the Clark County School District to pay for a study.

CARSON CITY – Two Nevadans and a scholar from Texas made the final cut today for the job of state superintendent of public instruction.

René Cantú Jr., Caroline McIntosh and James Guthrie were selected from among five finalists by the state Board of Education to forward to Gov. Brian Sandoval for him to select the new state public schools chief. Sandoval is expected to announce his choice sometime next month.

CARSON CITY – The state of Nevada’s tough financial situation is holding up two separate interim studies approved by the Legislature because of the requirement for alternative funding sources to assist in conducting the reviews.

CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers today began a review of the state’s 45-year-old formula for funding public education with an eye towards addressing the needs of the state’s urban districts as they work to educate special education students, English-language learners and children in poverty.

The panel is still searching for funding for a study to help in the review, however. The failure to find private funding for a study could jeopardize any meaningful review in this interim, lawmakers were told.

CARSON CITY – As National School Choice Week gets under way today state officials say Nevada school children have more opportunities than ever before to choose a school that works best for them.

But one element of choice, a school voucher program, remains an unrealized and divisive issue for the state’s policy makers.

CARSON CITY – Nevada is joining with many other states in seeking a waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a state panel was told today.

CARSON CITY – Fifteen people, eight from within Nevada and seven from out of the state, have applied for the job of state superintendent of public instruction.

Three of the 15 did candidates that applied by a Dec. 30 deadline not meet the statutory requirements for the position, such as having a master’s degree in education or school administration, the Sandoval administration said in an update on the search process.

Our public schools must change. We must rethink how teachers teach and students learn.Charter schools hold much promise for reinventing public school. Blended distance learning (a mix of online ins...

Some things seem so obvious after they've been pointed out to you. I was pointed to a Web file from a Boston writer, Glenn MacDonald, a quantitative analyst using quantitative statistical methods, that has a fascinating study of Boston area public schools. After much study of Boston Magazine's ranking of 135 schools, he came up with a load of mistakes that no publication should ever make.

Many people use social media to stay connected, but Nevada State Bank is using it to give away $20,000 to three Nevada public schools.

Nevada State Bank believes in the importance of education and the difference it makes in the community. The bank continually strives to volunteer and invest in the future of the state’s children. Now, Nevada State Bank is asking for the public’s help.

CARSON CITY – So how much are Nevada taxpayers shelling out to educate children attending the state’s 17 public school districts this year?
And if the answer is not easy to ascertain, is it time to consider revising the 44-year old Nevada Plan, the admittedly complex formula used by the Legislature every two years to fund public education?

Assemblywoman April Mastrolucca, D-Las Vegas, Monday issued a statement protesting the veto of legislation requiring schools to provide breakfast to low-income students in public schools."This bill...

CARSON CITY – A bill allowing the state Treasurer to invest up to $50 million in education trust funds to support economic diversification efforts and generate more money for public schools was signed into law today by Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Concerns had been expressed about the legality of Senate Bill 75 after it had been amended in the Senate, but Treasurer Kate Marshall said today the final version of the measure restored the original language.

CARSON CITY – A bill allowing the state Treasurer to invest up to $50 million in education trust funds to support economic diversification efforts and generate more money for public schools was signed into law today by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranks 6th among the states in a new index generated by the Mercatus Center called “Freedom in the 50 States, An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom.”

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval and legislative leaders from both parties announced a budget agreement today that will see tax increases and restorations of funding to public and higher education in exchange for significant policy reforms in education and collective bargaining.
The agreement came on the 115th day of the session, and virtually guarantees that lawmakers will adjourn the 2011 session by Monday as the constitution requires.

CARSON CITY – A bill authorizing the state Treasurer to use up to $50 million in education funds to support economic diversification efforts and generate more money for public schools passed the Senate today despite questions about the constitutionality of the measure.
Senate Bill 75, amended twice before the vote, passed 12-9 with 10 Democrats and two Republicans in support. It will now be considered by the Assembly.
The bill is being sought by state Treasurer Kate Marshall.

CARSON CITY – A proposal by Gov. Brian Sandoval to transfer the state share of operating the mental health courts to the counties was rejected by Democrat lawmakers today, creating another $6 million hole in the upcoming two-year budget that starts July 1.
The party-line vote by members of the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees came after repeated testimony from advocates for the courts since the session began that they would close without continued state support because of fiscal problems facing the counties.

CARSON CITY – Memo to Nevada lawmakers: If you don’t finish up your work on June 6 as the constitution requires, don’t expect Gov. Brian Sandoval to call you back to work right away in a special session.

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – Legislative Democrats went ahead today with their own funding plan for public education, establishing a level of spending that puts the budget at significant odds with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval and his opposition to new taxes.
The votes by Democrats have upped the ante in the budget dispute with Republicans, creating a hole estimated at $700 million by state Budget Director Andrew Clinger.

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – Work on closing Nevada’s two-year $6 billion general fund budget will begin in earnest tomorrow after the Economic Forum today finalized its tax revenue projections for the coming two years.
But legislative Democrats and Gov. Brian Sandoval remain far apart on an acceptable spending plan even with a $218 million general fund revenue increase.

CARSON CITY – The debate over Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed cuts to public education shifted to the state Senate today, with members of the upper house getting the details of the reductions that the Clark County schools chief said would mean the loss of $400 million for a 19 percent cut in funding.
But there was no effort by Democrats, who control the Senate with a narrow 11-10 advantage, to force a vote on the schools budget as occurred yesterday in a more contentious Assembly hearing. There were no fireworks either.

CARSON CITY – The Assembly was awash with numbers tonight.
As part of the Democratic strategy to close the budget, the Assembly as a whole discussed for four and a half hours the education budget so that all legislators could learn about the cuts.
Legislative staff presented to the Assembly more than $1 billion proposed “major reductions” to school districts. These numbers come from a variety of sources:

The Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey hosts special speakers during public meetings held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 9am at the Silver Springs Community Center at 2945 Ft. Churchill Road. Each meeting also includes resource sharing, updates and discussion on issues of regional importance such as health and wellness, substance abuse prevention and recovery, education, workforce development, etc. On May 12, the featured speakers will be from the Tobacco Cessation Helpline.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A proposed amendment to the Nevada constitution to allow a future Legislature to create a school voucher program so parents could get state funding to send their children to private schools, including religious schools, was heard by a Senate panel today.

(Press Release) College campuses in Carson City and Las Vegas will host Nevada's portion of a national unity rally on Monday, April 4, the 43rd anniversary that marks the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The northern Nevada event begins at 4:30 p.m. at Rotary Plaza on the campus of Western Nevada College in Carson City.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The author of a new analysis of Nevada’s collective bargaining law says the complex rules have worked to the benefit of teachers’ unions rather than students, making reforms essential to improve the state’s public education system.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Carrying a hatchet, axe, sword or knife onto the grounds of  a child care center, public school or higher education campus would become a misdemeanor under a new proposal.