Patrick R. Gibbons
Saving kids ... AND money
Nevada has much to gain from Corporate Tuition Tax Credits
As the Nevada Legislature convenes in Carson City to discuss how to cover the imaginary budget shortfall—imaginary, in that it's a shortfall between the money projected to come in and the 17 percent increase in spending that politicians want—the fate of taxpayers and businesses hangs in the balance.
Fact checking medical care expense bankruptcies
President Barack Obama last night made a claim that medical care expenses have led to 1 million bankruptcies. Congresswoman Dina Titus appeared on KNPR radio today to repeat that error.
Democrats try to kill school choice in D.C.
Breaking news from Dan Lips and Robert Enlow, writing for National Review: Democrats have a $450 billion omnibus bill which has a provision to eliminate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program—a voucher program which helps 1,700 low-income students attend private schools of their choice.
The real danger
We’re not getting our money’s worth from NSHE
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers took aim at Gov. Gibbons this weekend for his position against raising taxes. Rogers, like many others, considers "no new taxes" a dangerous ideology. However, he—and they—are looking at the wrong issue.
Minorities need not apply?
One major public education myth is that teacher certifications requirements help improve the quality of teachers. However, research by the Brookings Institution has shown that there is virtually no difference between the effectiveness of a certified teacher and an uncertified teacher.
Teachers union against educational standards before it was for them
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers—one of the largest teacher unions in the country—recently published an opinion article in the Washington Post stating that she favors strong national education standards.
Underperforming—not underfunded
Nevada’s higher-education spending is above average, while performance is below
Critics of Gov. Gibbons' suggested budget cuts to the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) have alleged that higher education was already underfunded before the cuts were recommended. These critics believe cutting our "low-budget" universities would devastate them and irreversibly harm the quality of education in this state.
A majority don't graduate UNLV or UNR within 6 years
In the 1978 comedy classic National Lampoon's Animal House, after members of Delta House learn they are being expelled from campus, Bluto (John Belushi) laments to his fraternity brothers, "seven years of college, down the drain." Back in 1978 that joke merited riotous laughter from the audience. In 2009 Nevada, however, that joke reflects reality.
What happens in your business meeting stays in your business meeting
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's (LVCVA) most famous ad campaign, "What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas" has finally bit the city of Las Vegas in the proverbial butt.
What will Horsford and Buckley do?
Tuition tax credits would help Nevada’s low-income and minority children receive a better education
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley lead nearly two-thirds of the state's lawmakers. Both have promised to work toward improving education in Nevada—and we can all agree that education in Nevada is seriously in need of improvement. Horsford and Buckley are now primarily responsible for the future educational achievement of Nevada's students.
