Carson City, Nevada -- The proposed cut in teacher salaries by 1.75% in the state of Nevada will no longer be imposed, according to the spokesperson of Gov. Jim Gibbons. Budget director Andre Clinger found some additional funds to augment the budget for public education; so the planned decrease in teacher's wages will now be scrapped, said Gibbons' communications director, Daniel Burns. The additional money comes from extra Medicaid funds – which will now be diverted to the budget for public education.
Gibbons had initially asked the legislature to downgrade the public education budget by as much as a little over $200 million. But with the allocation of the extra funds, this number would be reduced to only around $35 million. The additional money would be able to cover the the salaries of public education teachers and other school employees. They would still go through a salary cut though, but it won't be anywhere near as much as the rate originally suggested by Nevada's governor.
The state's $887 million budget deficit (equal to 20% of the tax revenue the state government expected it would be able to collect between March and June 30, 2011) spurred the idea of a reduced salary rate for the teachers in Nevada. Democratic leaders have been searching for other sources of revenue to prevent possible cuts in teacher salaries which could lead to massive layoffs of educators. Gibbons has resolved the situation, but he now leaves the responsibility of how to use the additional budget to the various school districts. It is up to them to manage the funds wisely so that there would be no need for the reduction in teachers' wages.
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