NSHE praises Gov. Sandoval’s Executive Budget recommendation

Following yesterday’s State of the State address and release of the Executive Budget recommendation, higher education leaders reacted with praise and optimism at funding recommendations announced by Gov. Brian Sandoval.  

“What we heard last night was a clear signal that Nevada will increase its investment in higher education,” said Board of Regents Chair Kevin J. Page.

In his budget, the governor called for an end to the furloughs that helped the state weather its financial crisis and he restored certain merit based increases for classified staff.

“We are gratified the governor has ended furloughs and restored increases for classified workers who were among the hardest hit during the recession,” said Dan Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. “Governor Sandoval has been responsive to this high priority for our faculty and staff.”

In addition, Gov. Sandoval once again built his NSHE budget on the performance based formula approved by the last session of the legislature. His budget emphasizes the formula is working as planned.

“Over the past biennium, we have seen substantial gains in performance across the System and we are pleased the governor recognized and funded this performance,” said Board Vice Chair Rick Trachok.

In addition to these recommendations, the governor recommended funding for a number of the enhancement priorities recommended by the Board of Regents, including the Board’s request for a statewide expansion of public medical education. Central to this request is the establishment of a full four-year School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; operational funding for the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s (UNSOM) partnership with Renown; and funding for Project ECHO, a telemedicine initiative of UNSOM.

“The governor has made a historic recommendation to establish a medical school at UNLV,” said Regent James Dean Leavitt. “With this one action, the governor has signaled a new era for healthcare in Nevada and higher education’s central role in this critical endeavor.”

While the governor did not directly fund the NSHE request for funding graduate medical education, he did recommend $5 million in each year of the biennium for such programs to be overseen by a newly created state board.

“We expect that a number of the residencies and fellowships that we are currently planning will be well received by the state and funded through the governor’s newly created panel,” said UNSOM Dean Tom Schwenk. “More doctors are needed in Nevada now, and the expansion of these residency and fellowship programs is one critical part of expanding the physician population.”

Gov. Sandoval has also endorsed funding to maintain excellence at the Boyd School of Law and recommended a state match to build the long delayed UNLV Hotel College Academic building.

“The hotel college is certainly one of the premier programs at UNLV and this new state of the art building reaffirms it as one of the finest programs of its kind in the world,” said UNLV President Len Jessup.

The governor’s budget did not include a recommendation to increase the funding for credit completions throughout the System, nor did it recommend bridge funding for Great Basin College, Western Nevada College, or the Desert Research Institute.

“We understand that funds are not unlimited and that the governor had to make choices,” said Klaich. “However, we intend to work with legislative leaders in an effort to demonstrate the critical work of these colleges and their need for bridge funding.”

The small rural colleges were hit particularly hard in the implementation of a new funding formula and Klaich indicated that while these colleges transition to the new budget reality implied by the formula, this bridge funding is critical for their continued viability.

In addition to these funding recommendations in the Executive Budget, the governor recommended funding in a number of areas that will directly impact and benefit higher education:

1. Knowledge Fund: The Executive Budget contained $10 million in funding to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for continuation of the Knowledge Fund.
2. STEM Workforce Challenge Grant: The Executive Budget funds the office of Science, Innovation and Technology within the Governor’s Office and allocates $1.5 million per year of the biennium for the STEM Challenge Grant.
3. Graduate Medical Education Expansion: As indicated above, the governor’s recommendation included $10 million in support of the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Task Force that he appointed to expand medical residencies and fellowships. Both UNR and UNLV were represented on that committee and while these funds won’t be flowing directly to either of the NSHE medical schools, those institutions will be actively engaged in community partnerships supported with this funding and expect that NSHE residencies and fellowships will be strong candidates for funding under this new program.
4. College and Career Readiness Grants: $8 million has been recommended for appropriation to the Nevada Department of Education for these grants. NSHE expects the grants will support a variety of partnerships between K-12 and higher education that are geared to enhance the quality and quantity of the student pipeline.
5. Teacher Preparation and Professional Development: This is another recommended appropriation that will flow to the Nevada Department of Education but will support NSHE’s teacher education programs throughout the System. This is another example of the emphasis in the Executive Budget on education, and in particular, education as a continuum.

“For the years of the great recession, during times of punishing budget cuts, NSHE has worked strategically to be good stewards of taxpayer and student funds and to show the value of higher education to the state,” said Page. “It is clear from the governor’s budget that he recognizes the importance of higher education to building a New Nevada. We look forward to being active, involved partners in that effort.”

Page indicated that the Board of Regents and Chancellor Dan Klaich are looking forward to the upcoming session and working with Gov. Sandoval and the Nevada legislators.