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Sisolak appoints Titus staffer to Clark County Commission
Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday appointed Michael Naft as his successor on the Clark County Commission. Naft is currently the district director for Rep. Dina Titus. Naft will represent District A for the remainder of the current term. Sisolak represented the district from 2009 until last month; he served as chairman from 2013 through 2018. […]
Gov. Sisolak’s first official act: Task force on sexual harassment
Following his inauguration midday Monday, Gov. Steve Sisolak issued his first executive order: the creation of a task force focused on sexual harassment and discrimination. According to a press release, duties of the Governor’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Law and Policy will “include a review of federal and State sexual harassment laws, […]
NSHE chancellor brushes off north-south split as “a tired discussion”
Thom Reilly knows there are many lenses a person can use to view the higher-education system here in Nevada. One brings into focus a north-south divide, in which the older research university nearest the state capitol is favored over the younger, scrappier institution located down south. The Nevada System of Higher Education chancellor flatly rejects […]
Red Rock guy, weed dude prepare for Clark County Commission
Clark County commissioners-elect Justin Jones and Tick Segerblom are best known for their pet issues — opposing a proposed housing development near Red Rock Canyon and the statewide legalization of marijuana, respectively. But when they are sworn in Jan. 7, they will have their hands on a myriad of challenges facing the county’s more than […]
State charter school graduation rate lags behind CCSD, WCSD
The Nevada Department of Education released graduation rates for the Class of 2018, and state-sponsored charter schools as a whole fared worse than traditional public school districts as a whole. Nevada’s overall statewide graduation rate was 83.17 percent. Clark County School District, which is by far the state’s largest district (320,000 students), had a graduation rate […]
Assemblywoman to charter school authority: We are watching you
The State Public Charter School Authority continues to face serious criticism from legislators for failing to conduct evaluative site visits at the dozens of charter schools it oversees, even amid their promises to begin such visits early next year. “I’m concerned there’s not real clarity on what you are supposed to be doing as a […]
Professors, donors make case for reining in NSHE
The Nevada System of Higher Education only cares about itself — and the University of Nevada, Reno. That was one of the harsh criticisms doled out by scholars and philanthropists last week during a Lincy Institute symposium on reforming higher education in Nevada. Speakers admonished NSHE for excessive administrative bloat and argued the bureaucratic office […]
Charter school authority talks diversity: ‘We have to get better’
Students at state-sponsored charter schools performed better on standardized testing than students within traditional school districts in all demographic categories except one: low-income students. That data point emerged Friday amid a discussion on diversity by the appointed board that authorizes the majority of the state’s charter schools. It underscores growing criticism of charter schools from […]
36 cents an hour? The debate on subminimum wage is here
In front of the woman sits a piece of cardboard with a dozen individual rectangles drawn on in permanent marker. Working slowly but steadily, the woman places a small packet onto each rectangle. When each rectangle is filled, she gathers the dozen individual packets into one larger box that will be sold by a retail […]
Regents will ask Legislature to reform higher ed salary structure
K-12 teachers aren’t the only ones not satisfied with salaries. Many within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) are frustrated by its lack of an in-rank salary advancement structure and they want legislators to tackle the issue during the upcoming 2019 session. They argue salary compression — only slight differences between salaries for new […]
‘Yes on 6’ calls on 2019 Legislature to raise renewable standard
‘Yes on 6’ wants to avoid becoming ‘Yes on 3.’ Nevadans voted “yes” last week on Question 6 — a ballot initiative that would require electric utilities to acquire at least 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Because it amends the Nevada Constitution, the ballot measure must be approved by voters […]
Election takeaways: Washoe blues, rural-urban divide deepens
Nevada academics wasted no time jumping into an election post mortem. The Brookings Institute held a post-election panel discussion Wednesday where they analyzed the previous night’s “blue wave,” in which Democrats claimed victory in almost all statewide races. Panelists included Brookings Mountain West Executive Director Robert Lang, UNLV political science professor David Damore, Brookings fellow […]