School officials critical of Sandoval’s bond plan

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 | 2:47 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to strip money out of construction bond funds of school districts would lead to property tax increases, a host of education officials said Tuesday.

They told the Assembly Ways and Means Committee that sweeping the funds would set school districts back 20 years in their school improvement projects.

Carolyn Edwards, president of the Clark County School Board, said it passed a resolution unanimously opposing the plan in Assembly Bill 561. She said taxes would have to be raised in the future if the bill passed in its present form.

But Andrew Clinger, director of the state Department of Administration, argued the switch in funds wouldn't lead to an increase in taxes.

The bill would require 90 percent of the money in school bond debt service accounts in Clark and Washoe counties to be transferred to finance daily operations of the schools. In rural counties, the number is 75 percent.

School officials said voters approved these bond issues with the understanding the money would be used to finance construction of new schools or make improvements on existing ones.

Joyce Haldeman of the Clark County School District said sweeping the funds was a direct violation of the 1998 bond issue approved by voters.

Jeff Weiller, chief finance officer of the Clark County School District, said the governor’s plan takes money out of the debt reserve and the district would either have to increase taxes or extend the payment schedule to pay off bonds.

William Roberts, superintendent of the Nye County School District, said design has started to replace a 60-year-old school in Tonopah. He said the project is on hold until the Legislature makes a decision on the bill.

The Legislature earlier passed a bill to ensure that school districts would be able to keep the money in the bond debt reserve account for construction.

Sandoval vetoed the bill, Assembly Bill 183, saying that eliminating this source of money for school operations would cost 5,000 teachers their jobs. And he said the bill “will require a new tax at a point when our economy is presenting limited but promising signs of recovery.”

There has been no attempt to override the veto since it requires a two-thirds vote in each house.