Friday, May 16, 2003 | 6:23 a.m.
With the 2003 Legislature scheduled to end June 2, the best-case scenario is that there will be only marginal improvement when it comes to children's issues.
The worst-case scenario has Nevada children falling even further behind national averages in categories such as education, health care, welfare and child protective services, where they already rank among the worst off in the nation.
Much of the outcome hinges on whether lawmakers approve Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposal for $1 billion in new and increased tax revenues.
Guinn said he was all too aware of Nevada's poor rankings in categories affecting children.
"We're at the bottom of the lists of all the things you'd want to be better at, and we're at the top of the lists of all the things that are bad," he said.
With the state's population growth and demands for government services outpacing revenues, he said his budget proposals would only make a dent in some categories, such as the number of children without health insurance, and would do little to change Nevada's lowly status in other categories, such as per-pupil spending.
"It will cost us $311 million more just to keep up with the same level of kindergarten through 12th grade education spending that we've had in the last four years," Guinn said. "In the last four years we haven't been as healthy economically as people think we've been. We're growing at a rate that has been faster than the revenue stream."
There are indications that lawmakers are getting that message, at least when it comes to education funding. Guinn's proposed budget for kindergarten through 12th grade education for the next biennium exceeds the current biennium budget by $384 million. Both the Senate Finance Committee and Assembly Ways and Means Committee have approved budgets that are about $160 million higher than Guinn's request.
The Assembly proposal includes teacher salary increases of 2 percent in 2004 and 4 percent in 2005. The Senate recommendations include giving school districts flexibility on higher class sizes in first through third grades than they have today, which could save schools money.
The Senate panel also expressed support for Guinn's proposal to continue signing bonuses for new and high-demand teachers. such as those in special education, math and science. But Ways and Means suggested the bonuses be eliminated with the money going toward enhanced retirement bonuses for teachers.
Three of Las Vegas' top lawmakers -- Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus and Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, both Democrats, and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Ray Rawson, a Republican -- share Guinn's hope that conditions for children improve. But they also concede there are no guarantees.
Titus, a UNLV political science professor, said the best grade this Legislature could earn on children's issues is a B. That would drop to a D if the status quo is maintained, and an F if services are cut.
"It all depends on what tax package we get through," Titus said. "Children's issues have not been a big priority this session except for education. If you raise enough taxes just to keep us at status quo, we'll still be at the bottom of all these lists.
"What that shows is that children haven't been a priority, and that's shortsighted because they're the future. The condition of your children and your seniors is a reflection of quality of life in your community."
Rawson predicted that Nevada's children will make progress "if we're able to raise some revenue and fund the education budget and juvenile justice and disability programs for kids."
"If we don't raise revenue, it will be disastrous for kids," he said. "So there is a lot at stake. I'm optimistic because most of the people I'm talking to sense that there is a problem and we need to deal with it."
Because two-thirds of both chambers are needed to pass new taxes, Rawson said it only takes "a few dissidents" to block action.
"I would say that the child advocacy is pretty strong and pretty good," Rawson said. "So how come we're having these problems? I think it's growth- driven, so we're always behind the eight ball."
Buckley said she was encouraged by progress on some bills, such funding that enables Clark County to take over foster care from the state and oversee the entire child protective system in Southern Nevada. Guinn's proposed budget would provide $8 million for the next biennium to make that happen.
Buckley also expressed hope that lawmakers would approve increased funding to handle larger projected caseloads for Nevada Check-Up, a health care program for some low-income children. Guinn's budget would add 7,000 children over the next two years to the 25,848 enrolled as of March.
At the same time, Buckley said she has seen proposals to cut funding for class size reduction and at-risk students, positions she termed "ludicrous."
"Education is probably the biggest issue before the Legislature right now," Buckley said. "If we do nothing this session, all arts and sports will be cut and we'll probably have to go to a four-day school week. We can't afford not to have a better education system."
Guinn said the only major education "enhancements" he is seeking are $100 million to establish full-day kindergarten classes at at-risk schools, hire additional math, special education and English as a Second Language teachers, and purchase more textbooks.
"This would provide an opportunity for every child to have a textbook or at least see one in a classroom," he said. "The money for the full-day kindergarten would help immeasurably because the kids who don't get a good start will fall behind in school."
But the Republican governor -- a former Clark County School superintendent -- said his budget will not improve the state's per-pupil spending, which is more than $1,500 behind the national average. When asked whether Nevada could match the nation's average in the foreseeable future, he said the chances were "pretty bleak."
"We're still not doing anything to get to the national average," Guinn said. "That will have to wait till later. There's also no money for pay raises."
Guinn said he was also pessimistic about additional funding for social service programs that benefit children. The 2001 Legislature approved roughly $100 million in enhancements for those programs and for the increase caseloads, but the money wasn't spent because the state fell into a budget crisis brought on largely by a national recession and fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
One such program is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families that includes cash assistance for low-income families whose adults are seeking jobs. The state's level of cash assistance hasn't changed in more than 10 years, a fact not lost on Buckley. The maximum monthly cash benefit for a family of three is $348, the same as in 1992.
"It is very difficult to run a family on that amount of money," Buckley, the executive director of Clark County Legal Services, said. "These are programs for people who are looking for a job. We don't have handouts anymore. But when the economy is tough people rely on these programs."
For Nevada's children to match their peers elsewhere, the state would have to:
Raise its per-pupil spending, lower its high school dropout rate, reduce its pupil-to-teacher ratios and improve its fourth and eighth grade test scores in core subjects.
Lower its percentage of children without health insurance and increase its vaccination rates.
Increase its temporary cash benefits for families that are struggling to find jobs.
Reduce its caseloads for child protective service workers.
Reduce the ratios of workers per child in child care facilities, particularly for younger children.
Donna Coleman, president of the local nonprofit Children's Advocacy Alliance, didn't mince words when asked to rate the 2003 Legislature's overall performance on children's issues.
"It's disgusting," she said. "It's the same old, same old. I don't see anything bold. I don't see anything that will put our state in a better state of affairs. I don't see them (lawmakers) doing anything that will help kids."
Bobbie Gang of the Nevada Women's Lobby also said she didn't expect much change where children are concerned.
"I don't think we'll see a lot of increases for the better, but if we don't provide some funding, we'll drop even more," Gang said. "We cannot cut what the governor has identified as needs in this state. Very simply put: We have a budget crisis. The revenue cannot keep up with the growth in this state. We have a lot more people waiting for services, but growth doesn't pay for itself."
Gang, however, was more optimistic that legislators wouldn't turn their backs on kids.
"The impression I'm getting is that the legislators want to do the right thing," she said. "They want to bring per-pupil spending up and cover more kids under health care and mental health services. A lot of them understand the need is there."
The Children's Advocacy Alliance says one way to improve conditions for children would be for Nevada to create a statewide children's commission that would look at successful programs in other states. The alliance recommends that the commission be made up of elected officials and private-sector representatives and report to the Legislature and governor.
"We can look at how we can bring these successful models to play in our own state," Gard Jameson, alliance vice president, said.
An example of a program Nevada ought to study exists in Salt Lake City, which saved $3 million annually by compelling troubled teens and their parents to attend weekly court-supervised classes, he said. The classes have reduced the need to place many of the youths in costly institutionalized care, Jameson said.
"We need to get people around a table to discuss these child welfare issues. It's an issue of attention. To the extent we ignore our children we destroy ourselves and the very things we're working toward."
Guinn has advocated creation of a Cabinet-level position on children's issues that would recommend reforms to the governnor. A bill that would have done something similar by establishing a Nevada Commission on Children and Families died in the Senate in 2001.
But Guinn said he still thinks the idea is sound and should be pursued.
"I absolutely support a children's commission that would look at the services that we have," Guinn said. "Anytime you have a person at the Cabinet level, that person can carry a message to the top."
While the Legislature created a governor's task force to make tax recommendations for the current legislative session, Guinn said he is not yet prepared to form a committee to study children's issues. But he said he would support formation of a children's task force before the 2005 Legislature meets if lawmakers agree to provide funding for the research needed for it to make recommendations.
"I am all for a committee to study children's issues and a Cabinet-level post," Guinn said. "The issue here is finding a way to fund what I believe is a very important step in the right direction for the children of our state."
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