Governor Jim Gibbons does not have his priorities straight as he is protecting
legislation that would keep his "friends" — businesses
and banks — happy
and turns his back on public education.
"Despite his 'Education First' initiative turned mandate, the education budget
is far from closed," said NSEA Executive Director Terry Hickman. "He
has threatened to veto the budget if his areas of concern — which do not
include
education — are
not addressed. This is irresponsible and unacceptable."
If the education
budget does not close and a special session is called, we could be facing
the same scenario we did in the 2003 Legislative Session where some schools
were not able to open on time. This could cause a lot of problems for everyone,
especially students, teachers, and support professionals.
"We cannot put
our educators, students, and parents through the same uncertainty and trouble
they endured several years ago. The education budget must be closed
as mandated by the constitution before any other budget is finalized and
we urge it be closed with significant raises that include additional money
for retirement," added Hickman. "This political logjam is a disservice to
the citizens of this state and it's time for the governor to demonstrate
leadership and allow the legislature to continue with the business of closing
budgets and ending the legislative session on June 4th."