There’s no reason we can’t have better schools and health care

Sunday, May 3, 2015 | 2 a.m.

We all want things that make life better. Some might be materialistic — a new car, a new house, a new TV, a new outfit. But our most important aspirations have more intrinsic value. We want good health for ourselves and our families, and access to high-quality health care. And we want our children and grandchildren to receive a good education, not only for their sake but so Nevada can provide the kind of trained workforce necessary to lure top-shelf business and industry.

Some of our wants are attainable through our own efforts — saving money so we can indulge in materialistic splurges. But unless we are wealthy and can afford private schools and boutique medical care, we are stuck with an education system that is sorely underperforming and a health care system that is severely underequipped for the region’s needs.

Our schools have neither enough classrooms nor teachers, especially those trained in today’s most relevant skill sets — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Our older classrooms are in desperate need of repairs, renovations and technology upgrades, and basic literacy programs must be extended to a growing number of eager students in need.

And while Southern Nevada’s health care system has matured with the likes of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, we have too few doctors in the most basic of specialties, as evidenced by lengthening wait times in doctor’s offices.

The kinds of fixes needed in Nevada for education and health care are beyond the reach of any individual. State government can and certainly should step up to meet our collective needs by earmarking more money for education and fully budgeting the fledgling UNLV School of Medicine to train new doctors.

Unfortunately, our elected officials in the past chose not to step up and raise revenue. Instead, they cowardly kicked the proverbial can down the road for another legislative session. And, clink, clink, the can got kicked farther down the road by each Legislature.

That is why we are grateful Gov. Brian Sandoval in January had the courage to present an ambitious proposal to generate an additional $880 million for education. He since has given assurances that another $22 million would be allocated to the UNLV medical school so the school could open in 2017 with its first 60 students. The goal is for them to do their residencies in Nevada, then stay here once they are fully minted. Year after year, as many as 60 more doctors could join our ranks.

Legislators don’t agree on how that extra money should be raised, and that’s for them to work out. The heartening news, though, is a thin majority of them seems committed to raise the money, one way or another, to throw our schools a life preserver.

What we can’t figure out is why some lawmakers, such as Republican Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, are unwilling to boost funding to improve education, which undisputedly is Nevada’s single greatest need. On her website, she calls for education reforms over increased funding. Fiore and her band of cohorts don’t understand: It is a matter of money — money that the Legislature for years has refused to provide, further worsening the situation. Our schools are drastically underfunded compared with those in other states.

A recent survey by the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance found that 57 percent of respondents supported Sandoval’s plan to raise business-license fees to increase funding, and two-thirds supported money to launch the UNLV School of Medicine as soon as possible.

The fact that lawmakers may find other ways to boost school funding isn’t the point; the point is the public wants something done.

Nevada can’t afford to be a cheapskate with something as important as the education of our children. If Fiore and her band of ideologues really want to make a difference, they can muster some courage and stand up to be counted in support of the state’s greatest need. Our children’s education should have priority over an ideologue’s quest for headlines.