Having made the change removing the prohibition on the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations, the next step is to adopt a set of common core standards put together by a consortium of states. As a member of the Council to Establish Academic Standards, I take very seriously Nevada’s role in setting high standards for our students. While standards for history and social studies benefit from a Nevada-specific perspective, I’ve been watching this effort to create common standards for core subjects like math and English with interest for sometime now.

Provided that the standards don’t result in a diminishing of expectations for our students, there is strength in numbers. A team of states developing standards can realize efficiency gains (standards review processes are complex, exhaustive and have to account for every aspect of a subject) and the resulting standards can better benchmark student performance across the states.

Tomorrow morning, a meeting of the Council to Establish Academic Standards will meet to review and adopt these standards so that Nevada can apply for the Race to the Top Grant, funding that is welcome given our current budget crisis. I encourage to review the standards, as well as the Common Core Standards Memorandum of Agreement, and the Race to the Top Requirements Related to Common Core Standards. You can learn more about the common core effort at www.commoncore.org.

What do you think about this issue?

Because of this shortfall, difficult and painful budget cuts simply could not be avoided. We worked hard, however, to minimize the cuts to education and to protect our most vulnerable citizens: our children and seniors.

Here’s a summary of legislation the legislature passed during the special session. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact me.

The Budget Problem

In January 2010, the state’s appointed group of economic experts, the Economic Forum, revised its earlier projections and forecast a budget shortfall of over $880 million, shortfall of 22%.

The Legislature’s goal was to minimize cuts to:

• K-12 education to avoid massive layoffs and even larger class sizes;
• Higher education to protect students and our colleges and universities, the very engines of our economic recovery; and
• Health and human service programs serving our most vulnerable citizens.

The Assembly and Senate heard hours of testimony from State agencies, school districts, union representatives, businesses, local governments, and the public. I heard from lots of concerned constituents who contacted me and participated in a Saturday legislative hearing at the Reno City Hall prior to the session.

Strategies

The budget gap has been bridged using three strategies: (1) minimizing or avoiding cuts to K-12 and higher education, health and human services, and public safety; (2) implementing government efficiencies; and (3) increasing certain fees. To mitigate the effects of the economic downturn, creating jobs was also a priority.

Minimizing Cuts

• Instead of proposed cuts of $211 million in State funding for K-12 education, the final cut in State funding will be $116.8 million.

• The school districts have been given flexibility that will help them maximize the use of their funding.

• Instead of proposed cuts of $76 million for our colleges and universities, the final cut will be approximately $46 million.

• Cuts to a wide variety of critical services for children, the disabled, elderly, and the mentally ill, as well as cuts to hospitals, have been avoided.

• The Nevada State Prison will remain open.

Implementing Efficiencies

• Approximately $10 million will be saved by cutting certain State contracts with outside consultants.

• No further cuts to the pay and benefits for State workers will be made since they took an 11% cut in the 2009 Session.

• Approximately $197 million in unspent State funds will be redirected to the priority areas of health, education, and public safety.

• By authorizing the Department of Taxation to hire new auditors and implement a tax amnesty program, the State will collect $20 million in owed, but unpaid, taxes.

Fee Increases

• Mining fees and fees on new gaming licenses have been increased.

• The fee paid by banks when filing a Notice of Default and Election to Sell has been increased from $50 to $200 and the Nevada Supreme Court will be allowed to expand the foreclosure mediation program enacted last session to include commercial foreclosures affecting small businesses.

Jobs Creation

• Using a modest amount of State and local revenues to bond for road construction and repair, an estimated 8,000 jobs will be created. In addition to providing badly needed construction jobs, this money will also make a long overdue investment in the State’s transportation infrastructure.

The day after the election, Lisa was ordered to the hospital on a month-long bed rest to forestall the delivery. Facing pre-eclampsia, our boys were delivered Thanksgiving weekend, eight weeks before their due date.

December and January were a volatile cocktail of celebration for our beautiful babies, as well as a constant vigil of dread and terror as we weathered false-positive chromosome disease test results, a range of frightening preemie medical conditions, infections, and progress and setbacks in their respiratory development.

Our celebration of Luca’s release after six weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was tempered with the reality that Finn remained behind, struggling to breathe on his own. On the opening day of the 75th session of the Nevada Legislature, the boys’ original projected due date, Finnegan was released from the hospital tethered to an oxygen tank that would remain by his side for many more weeks.

“Oh man, you’re probably not getting much sleep are you?!” was a common question I received during the 2009 session. And while the nights home from Carson City were indeed tough in the midst of one of the most difficult budget sessions in Nevada history, the joy and optimism of having our precious babies home kept me going.

In the months since that tough session, both the experience of the pregnancy and the NICU seem light years behind. Our babies have blossomed into vibrant little 15-month old boys, complete with distinct personalities, curiosity and joy.

As I’ve stated before on this blog, the decision to run is never a decision I take lightly. In the wake of the difficult choices we had to make last session to keep our state moving forward, and the new-found perspective on life I’ve gained from a fatherhood that came precariously close to never existing, there’s no getting around that this year’s decision to run for re-election was not easy.

The recent special session in which we had to make tough decisions in order to address a $900 million budget shortfall churned my stomach many times over. The anxiety my family and friends feel in this economy, many of whom have been out of work for months or live one layoff round away from not being able to provide for their families, is real. While I was able to fight and reduce some of Governor Gibbons’ most severe cuts, I know there are many difficult days to come next session.

But similar to the blossoming life I’m privileged to witness everyday in my two sons born to adversity, I’m confident that the only choice I can realistically make is to keep on moving forward.

Today, I’m filing for re-election to serve the residents of Assembly District 24.

Nevada’s budget challenges are enormous. Our challenge is not only to survive the immediate economic disaster, but to plan, now, for a brighter future for our state and our children. Making this next session even more daunting is the effect of term limits in which we’ll see a massive turn over in leadership in our citizen legislature. Over the past two sessions, I’m proud of the experience I’ve gained to become an effective advocate for my district and this state. I’m ready to boost my service to new heights in light of these changes as we pursue new solutions to Nevada’s problems.

I can take it. I’ve been through a lot. We will weather this storm. We will see a better tomorrow. With your help, we will get there, together.

Please join me on the campaign trail. Fan me on Facebook and/or join my Heckuva Lotta Friends Facebook Group. Also be sure to sign up for email updates from the campaign so you can stay involved.

And… check out my new campaign video! “Keep Moving Forward.”

[ev type=”youtube” data=”u1MIrImpZvM”][/ev]

For more detail on the revenue projections, please refer to this handout (”General Fund Revenue Forecasts” pdf) that was distributed at today’s meeting in both Carson City and Las Vegas. Adding to the problem is our increased Medicaid caseload, putting the number closer to $900 million.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to hearing from you your ideas for what we can do to address this current shortfall in such a manner that both deals with the immediate crisis and sets us as Nevadans on a course to full economic recovery. There are no easy answers to this crisis, and legislators and the Governor need to hear from you on how to more forward.