Reid says he opposes Nev. education funding waiver

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) " U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he won't support Nevada's bid for a stimulus waiver that would free the state from federal funding requirements for higher education.

Nevada is required to fund higher education at the same level it did in 2006 to be eligible for about $324 million in education funding provided under the stimulus legislation.

Reid said there are thousands more children in Nevada's public education system today than there were three years ago, and the state Legislature should find a way to fund the system at least as much as it did then.

"I believe in the public school system. I have grandchildren in it, and I want to take care of them," said Reid.

The requirement that Nevada fund education at 2006 levels has been a stumbling block for the state. Gov. Jim Gibbons' proposed budget meets the requirement for K-12 schools, but $268 million would have to be restored to higher education to qualify.

The federal government said states that have experienced "a precipitous decline in financial resources" can apply for waivers. In March, Gibbons wrote to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, spelling out Nevada's dire fiscal straits.

Asked if he had any advice for the governor or Legislature, Reid said, "No, they're going to have to work that out on their own. I have enough to do in Washington. All we ask is they take care of kids at the 2006 level."

Reid spokesman Tom Brede said later that the waiver decision is up to Duncan, adding, "The state will either qualify or it won't."

A spokesman for Gibbons said Reid was in effect suggesting that the state raise taxes during a recession.

"New taxes will kill jobs at a time when we are trying to stimulate the economy," Dan Burns said, adding that Reid's position amounted to "partisan politics at work."

Burns said the state has letters of support for its waiver from Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and has sent a letter to the federal Department of Education declaring its intention to file for a waiver. He said the forms and guidelines for waivers have not been written yet.