Wednesday, March 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- If the state can afford to build a "classy" legislative building and "nice" prisons, then it should also construct schools for Nevada's children, according to education advocates.
"We say kids are No. 1, but we cram them into crowded classrooms with sometimes leaking roofs and old plumbing and electricity, with not enough outlets for computers if they're lucky enough to have them, and we expect them to become rocket scientists," said Charlotte Brothwell, executive director of the Nevada Classified School Employees Association.
Brothwell and other speakers told the Senate Legislative and Operations Committee Tuesday that schools are overcrowded and falling apart because no state money goes to build or repair them.
The committee has begun hearing what is expected to be several bills asking the state to spend money for school construction. Tuesday's measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, would set up a committee to study the issue. No action was taken.
Advocates said the Legislature should put schools ahead of prisons and other needs.
"The Legislature can appropriate funding for prisons, and we have some really nice ones, with more planned for the future," Brothwell said.
She then took a shot the legislative building, where new construction has exceeded $19 million, including cost overruns and $745 leather chairs for each lawmaker.
"We tell our children they are important, but they know what we really think is important: new cars, nice malls ... professional buildings, elegant casinos, and, yes, a classy and comfortable work environment for our legislators," she said. "Our children are our future. If we don't invest properly in them, how can we expect the best out of them?"
Only two states, Nevada and Louisiana, use no state money for school construction, the committee heard. Taxpayers in each of Nevada's 17 school districts vote on whether they want to pay for more schools. A property tax proposal passed in Clark County last year but failed elsewhere in Nevada, including Washoe County, where Reno is located.
Critics say the ballot-box process allows some districts to have better schools than others. The problem is severe in some rural counties, where aging schools are in disrepair.
"We are at risk of being told by the Supreme Court to equalize the schools," Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, said after the hearing. "We have a great disparity between a school in Schurz and Durango High (in Las Vegas)."
Most advocates concede that the Legislature probably won't pass a bill this session allowing the state to spend money for school construction.
Gov. Bob Miller, Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, oppose the idea.
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