CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Governor Brian Sandoval says Nevadans are being confronted on all sides by bad news. The governor gave his State of the State Address in Carson City Monday night, and the outlook was grim.
Sandoval focused on several key issues facing the state, including the budget crisis and education.
The governor focused on the $1.2 billion budget hole he inherited. Sandoval has submitted a budget to the legislature with 8 percent in spending cuts. He has also proposed the consolidation, elimination or centralization of 20 agencies and departments. He says there will be layoffs at the state level, but "not on the scale seen in other states."
Turning to education, the governor said the system is broken. Sandoval outlined several proposals he says will fix the system, including ending teacher tenure, holding back students who fall behind and reforming how K through 12 schools are governed.
"I want to level with the people of Nevada," he said. "Our education system is broken. Not the people, but the system. While many teachers, professors and students are excelling, collectively they are held back by an antiquated system that emphasizes too many of the wrong things."
"We've been putting hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe a billion dollars into these programs and what we have gotten for it is the worst graduation rates in the United States. I don't think it's how much money you spend it's how you spend it."
Sandoval also said tuition decisions for higher education should be turned over to the Board of Regents. Faced with their own large budget gap, turning tuition decisions over to Regents would allow them to raise tuition.
The governor also focused on bringing jobs to Nevada. A new proposed program called Nevada Jobs Unlimited would encourage growth with established local businesses and recruitment of out-of-state businesses.
Finally, Sandoval turned to governmental oversight. He will create and Office of the Inspector General to audit and evaluate the spending of state funds.
"Through continued hard work, transparency, and clarity, each and every one of us in this chamber can take steps to send a clear message to our constituents: This is the people's government. We are but stewards," he said.
The Nevada Assembly's top Democrat offered tentative praise for Sandoval Monday and promised cooperation.
"Governor, we agree with you on many of the issues you presented," Speaker-elect John Oceguera said in prepared remarks. "We are ready to begin working with you to achieve our goals."
Oceguera also urged the governor to think more long-term and commit to a budget that invests in Nevada's outdated infrastructure and underfunded schools.
"A lesson I learned early -- you get what you pay for," he said. "We can't stay at the bottom of funding and get to the top of education."
Democrats created a unified front after the speech. State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said the cuts hit the middle class hardest and create a state that few may want to live in.
"Under the governor's proposed budget, working families will earn less, face declining services send their kids to devastated schools and pay skyrocketing tuitions and fees for college," Horsford said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
