Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | 8:05 a.m.
A shortfall in funding for Nevada's colleges and universities received national attention today when Bloomberg News ran a lengthy story on the issue.
The story noted the state's tax structure, with no personal income tax, relies heavily on gaming taxes.
"Now, with Sin City’s casinos on a losing streak, the schools may get much worse,'' Bloomberg said, noting that proposed budget cuts would lead to the loss of faculty jobs around the state.
Quoting higher education officials, Bloomberg said the state spent $194 per resident on colleges and universities in 2007 vs. the national average of $247.
"Nevada has been playing a game of Russian roulette with our finances," Jan Jones, senior vice president for government relations at Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., told the news service.
Political will to invest more in colleges has been in short supply in Nevada, said David Schwartz, director for UNLV's Center for Gaming Research.
"Las Vegas still has a boom-town mentality where a good percentage of the people living here think, ‘I’m going to make my money and get out’ and too few put down roots," he told Bloomberg. "The belief that higher education is a positive thing is not a given in Las Vegas."
Higher Education Chancellor James Rogers also said: "We have had a first-class economy and a third-class culture, and eventually a third-class culture will bring down a first-class economy."
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