SUBMITTED RELEASE
Brian Sandoval used a rare interview today to continue running away from his plans to lay off more than 5,000 Nevada teachers and raid class-size reduction funds.
During an appearance this morning on KNPR’s “State of Nevada,” Sandoval claimed he does not have a pink-slip agenda for education that includes continuing Jim Gibbons’ shameful legacy of balancing the budget by taking money from our children’s classrooms.
During the interview, Brian Sandoval scrambled away from his own plans to further cripple our struggling education system, which include:
— Slashing teacher salaries by 20 percent or lay off more than 5,000 teachers.
— Raiding $110 million from class-size reduction programs, particularly targeting 7- and 8-year-olds.
— Pushing for a voucher program that would drain millions from our public schools and wouldn’t even begin to cover tuition for the average private school.
— Cutting 12 percent of faculty and staff at our colleges and universities–that’s more than 750 professor and staff jobs lost.
Sandoval clearly does not understand the fundamental link between strong schools and a strong economy. Businesses will not come to Nevada when their employees know Nevada has the worst high school graduation rate in the nation. Executives of those businesses will not come to Nevada when they know Nevada ranks dead last in education.
Still, Sandoval said this morning he was satisfied with our state’s business climate, stating, “Nevada is, at least by one business magazine that I’ve reviewed, rated as the 5th best business state in the country.” But Sandoval is wrong about that, too.
A non-partisan report issued this week by CNBC shows Nevada ranks 47th in a list of “America’s Top States for Business.” The CNBC report rates states in ten categories important to business leaders and CEOs, including economy, technology and innovation, quality of life and education.
It’s just another case of Brian Sandoval misrepresenting the facts. He doesn’t want voters to notice that, like Jim Gibbons before him, he has offered no plans to do the work of economic development required to bring 21st century business to Nevada. And like Jim Gibbons, he would continue to cut education. He does not truly want to debate the issues, even going to far as to suggest imaginary negotiations with Rory Reid’s team.
And Brian Sandoval does not want Nevadans to recognize that improving our schools is the key to rebuilding our economy.
Voters can learn the facts about Brian Sandoval’s plans to cut education at Sandovalfactcheck.com and meet five dedicated Nevada teachers–one of whom could be laid off under Sandoval’s plan–at 1in5teachers.com.
Rory Reid is the only candidate for governor to offer solutions for today and a plan for Nevada’s future success–supporting strong schools for a stronger economy. For more information about his campaign or to download his plans, visit Rory2010.com.
