Seventieth Session

March 18, 1999

The hearing of the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means was called to order at 3:40 p.m. on Thursday March 18, 1999 by Vice Chair Evans. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Guest List. All Exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Sheila Leslie, representing Assembly District 27 in downtown Reno, agreed to sponsor this legislation based on requests from constituents across the state. Like many others, Ms. Leslie was a consumer as well as a supporter of the arts. She especially appreciated the work the state arts program had done in many of the educational and cultural areas of the state. After the election Ms. Leslie sat down with the Legislative Counsel Bureau and Arts Council staffs to review the budget, and decided there were three areas of the Art Council's program she especially wanted to support should additional funding be available. Ms. Leslie wanted to remind the committee of the enabling legislation for the Nevada Arts Council (NAC), which declared it was the policy of the state to ensure that the role of the arts in the life of Nevada's communities would continue to grow and play an ever increasing part in the cultural and economic development and educational experience of the citizens of Nevada. Ms. Leslie did not want the legislature to overlook the economic impact the arts had on the state, as well as the tremendous impact they had on thousands of citizens. A.B. 362 asked for $105,000, which was not administrative money, but instead went straight to the constituents of the arts in the state.

Harvey Whittemore, Nevada Art Advocates (NAA), stated A.B. 362 was a worthwhile piece of legislation. He added he was a partner of Lionel, Sawyer and Collins, and was acting as legislative counsel to Nevada Art Advocates. The sum represented in the bill was reasonable. Mr. Whittemore thought the three programs receiving the funds were worthwhile, and: hoped the committee would feel the same after they heard from citizens who had benefited from the programs.

Dale Erquiaga, Acting Director of the Department of Museums, Library and Arts, said the department appreciated the committee's consideration. He introduced Susan Boskoff, Director of the Nevada Arts Council, who would explain where the money came from.

Ms. Boskoff said when Ms. Leslie called her, they went through the performance indicators to identify the areas in which they could justify an accountable way of looking at increases in applications and projects. The figures developed for those three areas had to do with measurement indicators in terms of increases-in grant applications, arts and education, residency requests, specialty project grant requests, and also folk arts apprenticeships. There was also $5,000 designated to continue the annual Great Basin tribal gathering. The way the funding would be divided was to give $42,000 to the grants program in order to create a fifth level of organizational grants to support those institutions with budgets over $750,000. At present there were 7 such institutions, and within the next biennium the council anticipated another 3 to 5 would join the ranks. Also, $38,000 would be designated for project grants, public institutions, development grants for emerging arts institutions, and jackpot grants which were the first-time introduction to the grants program for individuals or public institutions. Also, $14,000 would go to support the artists in residence and special project grants through arts in education. In addition $6,000 would be used to support the folk arts apprenticeship program, and $5,000 to support the annual Great Basin tribal gathering.

Jill Berryman, Program Director at Sierra Arts, played a few minutes of videotape on a mural program aimed at finding an alternative solution to graffiti, and offering budding artists a chance to succeed. This program, Youth Art Works, was described in Exhibit C. Ms. Berryman said the program had benefited from project grants given by the Nevada Arts Council. Youth ages 21 to 25 were hired to become apprentices to professional artists. The program began as murals to reduce the amount of graffiti in Reno, and in 1999 was expanded to include landscape architecture, literary publication and theatre.

Vice Chair Evans asked if any of the art was in public places. Ms. Berryman replied it was, and in fact last year a mural called the Four Elements was placed by Ravenna Park in downtown Reno. There was another mural at the Plumas Tennis Courts based on wild horses, and one on Wedekind Road called the "World of Stamps." The final one, "The History of Aviation", was at the Reno Airport. Vice Chair Evans said the committee was supportive of these efforts.

Ms. Boskoff said the youth in this program were taken from all of the schools in Reno, and represented a mix of kids from different areas of town and different socioeconomic levels. The kids made new relationships, learned about team building, created portfolios and resumes and generally improved their grades in school. Without the support from the NAC the program would be difficult to implement since the cost per child was not cheap, but definitely well worth it.

Officer Craig Pittman, Reno Police Department (RPD), said the department supported A.B.362 because it was a nontraditional way to impact criminal activity, especially among young people in the community. The RPD was a very progressive agency, and was nationally recognized for its community-based policing programs.

The department looked at the Youth Art Works program as a way to take kids, prior to them becoming involved in the juvenile justice system, and redirect their talents in a positive way. That allowed them to put up positive public art that was well received in the community. In this manner the child was prevented from becoming a statistic with an arrest record. In fact, one of the program's youth had gone on a scholarship to the Arizona Institute for Art, and recently returned to Reno. Several of the youth, who were known to be involved in illegal activities were now involved in paying art jobs in town.

Daryl Crawford, Executive Director of the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, stated he represented the 25 tribal governments in Nevada in support of A.B. 362 and the Nevada Art's Council's (NAC) efforts in the following areas; the grants program, arts in education, and folk arts programs. The NAC had been providing assistance for Native Americans for some time now. Mr. Crawford referred to a packet of information detailing the projects funded by the Nevada Arts Council since 1993. Those projects assisted in preserving and documenting the Great Basin cultures and tribal events. The council took the role of conducting outreach to Nevada communities very seriously.

In 1996 Mr. Crawford met Nicholas Vrooman, who wanted to know how the council worked with local tribal governments. Mr. Crawford provided him with a map and the name of the leaders of each tribe. When Mr. Vrooman did his face to face consultations, he was able to document the tribe's needs, desires, and wants. Out of that consultation process, Mr. Vrooman designed and published the publication that was currently being used by the state of Nevada. Mr. Crawford referred to Exhibit D and noted in the packet there was a listing of programs funded by the NAC. The publication that Mr. Vrooman was able to produce was called "Songs for the Asking: Perspectives on Traditional Culture Among Nevada Indians." In that document, Mr. Vrooman talked about the direct concerns of the tribal people. Those were concerns coming from the constituents the legislature represented.

Mr. Crawford added in 1997 and 1998 the Council was able to sponsor the first Great Basin tribal gathering. The first tribal gathering was held July 9-12, 1998 on the South Fork Reservation in Lee, Nevada. This project was sponsored by the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, and was supported by all of the Nevada tribes, the Arts Councils and the South Fork Reservation that let the people use their land. This event was put on with additional funding from the folk culture conferences and gathering programs underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trust. This event was organized and planned by a volunteer committee of artists and activists from Elko, South Fork, Schurz, Carson City and Reno. Over 200 people attended from Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California. Nevada reservations represented included Reno, Sparks, Pyramid Lake, Gardnerville, Carson, Elko, Schurz, Moapa, Fallon, Wells, Yerington, Yamba and Battle Mountain. Presentations were given on language preservation, environmental issues, crafts marketing and the information of the Great Basin Basket Makers Association. T here were events dealing with crafts demonstrations, hands-on activities, willow basketry, cradleboard, buckskin tanning, moccasin making, traditional plants and drums. Youth activities included building the traditional tule houses and playing traditional games and outdoor activities. During the evening elders shared storytelling and dancing with the young participants. In 1999 the council hoped to have an even better gathering and even more participants. Mr. Crawford asked that the legislature approve the NAC's budget requests which were very beneficial to the state.

Andrea Graham, Coordinator of the Nevada Folk Arts Program, showed the committee a cradleboard made by a woman in Schurz who had been in the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. Mr. Crawford added he had included a newspaper

article in the packet (Exhibit D), that spoke to the strength of the programs discussed earlier.

Steven High, Executive Director of the Nevada Museum of Art, said he was speaking on behalf of the major arts organizations in Nevada whose annual operating budgets exceeded $750,000. There were seven major arts organizations in the state, including three in Las Vegas, three in Reno and one in Elko. These organizations had total operational expenditures of $8.2 million for 1999. The total state support through the NAC was about 1.8 percent of that figure ($148,000 for FY99).

Mr. High stated A.B. 362 would enable the NAC to recognize the importance of the major arts institutions in the state by creating a fifth level of organizational support. Organizations like Mr. High's would be able to apply for funds totaling up to $30,000. This would raise the level of state support for major arts organization's to approximately 2.5 percent of their operational budgets. The average percentage of operating support from state arts organizations nationwide was between 5 and 7 percent.

Mr. High said those major organizations filled the void in arts education for Nevada's children. In northern Nevada, the Nevada Museum had arts programs that involved every school in Washoe, Douglas, and Storey counties. The Philharmonic and Opera also maintained active programs through the schools, supporting existing instruction and, in many instances, providing arts instruction where none existed. The same was true in the south where the Lied Discovery Museum and the Nevada Ballet Theatre provided much needed educational opportunities for Nevada's youth.

Mr. High added those organizations provided education and entertaining programs, unavailable through any other outlet in the communities, for adults and youth. Mr. High told the committee to consider Cowboy Poetry at the Western Folklife Center, or the presentation of Rodin at the Nevada Museum of Art, or the upcoming retrospective of Alphonse Mucha. Mr. High added the state knew that a strong arts and cultural environment created an attractive environment for new businesses and their employees, and helped to stimulate economic growth within Nevada's communities.

Mr. High continued, saying as the nature of philanthropy changed, NAC funding became crucial in supporting the core expenses of these types of organizations. Nevada was rich in important philanthropic organizations like E.L. Wiegand, E.L. Cord, and the Robert Z. Hawkins Foundations. The state was also rich in community-minded corporations like International Gaming Technology and Nevada Bell which were both strong supporters of the arts. Even so, their support was normally tied to community-oriented programs and exhibitions. State and federal support for the arts provided the foundation, from which the state's public exhibitions and educational programs were built. Though state funds were currently less than 2 percent of the operating budget, those funds were a crucial component of the organization's funding structure, and were difficult to replace. Mr. High added he encouraged the committee to vote for the Nevada Arts Council by supporting A.B. 362.

Wendy Felling, Art Educator, said she was a parent of two children who attended Hidden Valley Elementary School, which was a recipient of a Special Projects Grant from the Nevada Arts Council. In addition, $1,250 was matched by $5,290 from the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the Faculty Art Committee, and US Bank, which was a sponsor through Very Special Arts Nevada (VSAN). Also, the Nevada Museum of Arts and VSAN were able to provide the entire student body, of which

one-third (320 children) were special education students, with a 6 week art program.

That program was designed to augment the students' core curriculum, such as Native American, environmental science, mathematics, history, language arts and social studies units. The program included art history, aesthetics, criticism and hands-on instruction in the visual arts. In addition, parents and teachers received two professional development workshops, which provided full in-service credit, to increase confidence and ability to continue teaching children through the visual arts. Initially, there was only one workshop offered, but there was such a demand, the second workshop was created. It was also important to, note the teachers attended these workshops on their own time and paid for them out of their own pockets.

Integrated curriculum packets would be available to use as a resource for further instruction by teachers, as well as introduction to resources already available in the school library. Ms. Felling said arts education was not available in the Washoe County school district at the elementary level. She added it was proven that students generally stopped advancing in visual communication skills by the fourth or fifth grade level. Ms. Felling asked how many of the people in attendance still drew at the fourth or fifth grade level because they were not encouraged to learn the arts. Also, in the global economy it was becoming more and more important to be able to communicate in the arts, as the committee knew after watching so many power point presentations.

Ms. Feller said non-Title 1 schools generally did not receive those programs, which were normally given to the schools that had been identified by their school lunch programs as needing the funds. However, the schools could not raise those funds on their own, and needed the help of the Nevada Arts Council. Ms. Feller said that kind of grant held schools, parents, and students accountable to raise matching funds, and to formulate clear objectives for the programs they intended to implement. Also, it showed good governmental support when those grants were acknowledged publicly, and promoted collaboration between organizations. The work would be auctioned off to raise funds for the next year's programming in the arts. Finally, this program exposed children to the value of the arts and to the wide array of career choices they could make.

Lisa Corcostegui, Director of the Sembat Gara Basque Folk Dance Ensemble, said she supported A.B. 362. Ms. Corcostegui was a recipient of a Folk Arts Apprenticeship in 1991. Through the apprenticeship she studied Basque Traditional Dance under master dancer Jesus Larea from the National Ballet of the Basque Country. The benefits of this apprenticeship were truly countless, and had impacts on the personal, dance ensemble and community levels.

At the personal level Ms. Corcostegui received invaluable information and training. She was also introduced to a network of Basque artists in the Basque country. The apprenticeship provided an opportunity for the ensemble to expand its existing repertoire and to effectively reflect the diversity present in the Basque tradition. In addition, Jesus inspired, in the ensemble, a consciousness of Basque dancers as performing artists. The folk dance ensemble performed in a wide variety of settings, such as Basque festivals, schools, municipal events, arts events, and conventions. Ms. Corcostegui asked the committee to support A.B. 362.

Kathy Bartlett, current Chair of the Nevada Arts Council, said she represented NAC and urged the committee's support of A.B. 362. Those monies would go directly back out to the field to impact and support the important programs the committee had already heard about.

There were no further questions or comments on the bill. There was no action taken on the bill.

Bob Gagnier, Executive Director of the State of Nevada Education Association (SNEA), said A.B. 257 had been requested by SNEA to address a long-standing problem within the classified service and the bill would add steps to SNEA's compensation plan.

Mr. Gagnier said the way the bill read as it came out of the Government Affairs Committee was that it would add two half-steps that July and two half-steps the following July. The bill would cost the General Fund a total of about $5.5 million the first year of the biennium and $6.15 million the second year. After that it would cost about $1.5 to $2 million per year.

Mr. Gagnier said under the current plan, employees topped out in their seventh year of service and, barring a promotion, would receive no further increases. Employees were normally hired at step one and received one full step for each year of satisfactory performance until they topped out. If an employee's performance fell below standard, they received no step increase and their performance continued to be reviewed more frequently until it was either brought up to satisfactory standard or the employee was terminated.

Mr. Gagnier offered a little background on the compensation plan. The bill referred to the "steps," actually half steps, as approximately 2 Y2 percent apart. Prior to July 1, 1970 the pay plan had steps and grades exactly 5 percent apart, however, because of a flat dollar raise July 1, 1970 and in January 1981, the five- percent differential was eliminated. The actual difference was about 4. 7 percent per full step.

Mr. Gagnier said there was some confusion between the bill and reality because what the bill referred to as "steps" were really half steps. The half steps were only used when someone was employed above the minimum level. Out of 14,000 employees only about 150 were in a half step. Elimination of the half steps was suggested often, but each time was resisted. However, at the Government Affairs hearing, the administration indicated that it would work with SNEA to eliminate them.

Mr. Gagnier indicated the state had not added steps to the pay plan since 1975. According to the official Department of Personnel salary survey, the relative position of Nevada State employees continued to erode when compared with the Nevada marketplace. In the Nevada survey of 31 private firms, 17 public jurisdictions and 10 hospitals, the state salaries were found to be 17.62 percent behind. If the committee looked at these figures (Exhibit E) they would be able to identify the trend.

Mr. Gagnier said the comparison was even worse when made with other public entities within the state. To bring the state within three percentage points, or 15 percent, would cost the General Fund over $49 million each year. Mr. Gagnier knew that was unrealistic. Also, that did not even include the cost of providing similar increases for school district employees.

Mr. Gagnier stated SNEA came up with the proposal as a way of bringing up their top salaries slowly and in a less costly manner, but with an eventual 9 percent increase for long term employees. Because the administration and the legislature frequently felt that across-the-board increases should be the same for both school districts and state government, SNEA surveyed the school districts to determine how many annual steps they had in their pay plans. The average was about 13 annual steps. That did not include additional pay for advanced degrees, which was a concept that did not exist in state government.

Mr. Gagnier said under SNEA's proposal, state employees would have .10 annual steps. That would be much more meaningful for career employees because they would see the upper limits increasing. Much of SNEA's turnover occurred in the earlier years of a career, but if the employees could see that their future salary was higher, it would go a long way towards retaining them.

Mr. Gagnier said the average State Employee Avoidable Turnover was almost 10 percent. That was twice as high as most larger local governments in Nevada. At that time, 44 percent of state employees were on the top step of the pay plan. Under A.B. 257 those employees would get an approximate 5 percent increase in July 1999 and an additional 5 percent in July 2000. Other employees would receive those additional steps as they moved up through the pay plan.

Mr. Gagnier said SNEA certainly believed the proper thing to do was to give all classified state employees a substantial pay raise immediately. That simply was not realistic. During the present period of low inflation and more demands upon the General Fund, this was the best way to address the problem. Mr. Gagnier added that what it would cost the General Fund for an across-the-board 2 percent cost of living increase, the legislature could provide career employees with an increase of almost 10 percent.

Denice Miller, Office of the Governor, stated the office supported A.B. 257. Ms. Miller said there were a number of bills that had the tag line "if there are additional funds available." There would be very few such bills the Office of the Governor would be testifying in support of, but A.B. 257 was one of them. The office recognized that state employees' salaries were behind, and thought it was very important to retain the state's talented employees. For that reason, despite the fiscal impact of the bill, the office hoped if there was money available, the committee would give A.B. 257 due consideration.

Jeanne Green, Acting Director of the Department of Personnel, said the department prepared the fiscal analysis of the bill. The first year of implementation the bill would cost approximately $11 million, for both General and non-General Fund agencies. The second year the bill would cost approximately $12 million, and after the first two years, the cost would level out to approximately $3 million per year.

The Vice Chair asked if there was any consideration being given to putting this in The Executive Budget. Ms. Miller said the office supported the bill, but had not put it in the budget earlier since there were no funds available. She reminded the committee the office was required to work within the projections of the Economic Forum, and as of December 1 projections, the bill would not have been possible. The office was hopeful those projections would be revised when the Forum met again at the end of April. If there were monies available at that time the office would like consideration of the bill.

Lisa Oliveto, Chairman of the Council for Classified Staff at Western Nevada Community College, said she supported A.B. 257. She said classified staff were an important and integral group within the State of Nevada. Ms. Oliveto said many

in the state relied upon those classified personnel to keep offices running smoothly and efficiently. She said this was especially true of those individuals who had served the number of years that placed them at the top of their steps and then had no opportunity for further growth. Those individuals needed to be compensated for their reliability, corporate memory, and stability that provided the strength within the state system. At that time, when money was at a premium, it provided to be the only potential raise that classified employees might receive. Ms. Oliveto urged the committee to vote in favor of A.B. 257 to give the State of Nevada's classified staff the recognition and consideration they so richly deserved.

Gary Grant, Library Supervisor 1, said he had 23 years in state service and had topped out, and then put in an additional 15 years. Mr. Grant was in favor of A.B. 257. Once an employee reached the top of his or her classification, it was very difficult to change classifications. Also, almost all of Mr. Grant's job evaluations were above average, but the only reward he got was a piece of paper and a slap on the back. Although that was great, Mr. Grant said once someone reached-the top, that was it. It would be wise to keep the incentive going for older employees. An increase in steps would help to accomplish that. Mr. Grant said it had been several years since the legislature had allowed any increase in pay to state workers. By increasing the steps, the committee would allow for a pay raise and pay increase. This would provide incentives for workers who were topped out to stay in their jobs. Mr. Grant said he thought there were approximately 400 people at the University of Nevada, Reno who were topped out.

Vonne Chowning, Assemblywoman representing District 28 in Clark County, said she supported A.B. 357. Mrs. Chowning said her district was made up largely of Hispanic families, with whom she worked lovingly. Mrs. Chowning said she was well aware of the needs that students had all over Nevada. Senator Matthews and Mrs. Chowning were able to pass A.B. 266 (1997), which allowed education consultants to be hired to identify the needs of the state. Mrs. Chowning said the state had a diverse student population, which reflected the state's constantly growing diverse population. With that came many needs. The state's high school dropout rate was growing drastically in those ethnically diverse populations. The state's Hispanic and African American populations comprised the highest number of dropout students. The state's Indian, Hispanic and African American students had barely passed the latest math portion of the state's proficiency exams. Approximately 60 percent of the American Indian, 75 percent of the Hispanic, and 80 percent of the African American student population did not pass. Mrs. Chowning said the state proudly passed the Education Reform Act during the 1997 legislature. Mrs. Chowning had served on the Standards Commission to raise the bar on the state's education program. She said on one hand, the state was raising the bar on standards, but on the other, the state had an increasing number of students who had failed. It was because of the Cultural Diversity Consultant and the Indian Education Consultant that the state was able to garner those results. The state did not have those results before, and did not know what was really happening. The ideal was to have high education standards as well as high numbers of students graduating.

When the legislature passed A.B. 266, Mrs. Chowning said she was very cognizant that the state wanted to have a strict measure of accountability. In the bill, an evaluation was required. Mrs. Chowning said that evaluation came out with very promising results, and had positive evaluations of the two consultants. In the

evaluation, the committee would be able to see tremendous results, and the monumental activities performed by the two individuals. The consultants identified needs, compiled a database, and came up with a source book and pilot programs. Mrs. Chowning said she was in strong support of the bill and the $171,000 needed to be funded in order to have the full amount for both years. The needs were there, and the accomplishments as well.

Doug Thunder, Deputy Superintendent for the Nevada Department of Education (NDE), said he supported the State Board of Education and the two consultant positions. Initially, those two positions were the top of the NDE's priority list when they prepared the list of enhancements for the 1999 legislature. Mr. Thunder said he understood and realized the reason those enhancements could not be supported in The Executive Budget. He added the department and the state board strongly supported those positions and saw them as a strong effort to help where the state's students needed it the most. The ethnic students had not faired very well on the high school proficiency test (Exhibit F).

Gloria Dopf, Team Leader for Educational Equity, said her team provided leadership and assistance to the districts providing programs for diverse learners, including special and compensatory education. Ms. Dopf said having had responsibility for the Education Equity program for a year, prior to the passage of A.B. 266, it was of great concern to her that the needy population was growing and she did not have the resources to respond to those needs. It was with great joy Ms. Dopf hired the two consultants and worked to expand the Equity Team. The consultants had only been on board since February 1998, and the funding began in October. Ms. Dopf called attention to the packet she provided for the committee (Exhibit G) and said there was a wealth of information as well as letters of support in that packet. Ms. Dopf then presented her official testimony:

Ms. de Braga asked if the program had been in place long enough to even evaluate all of the good it was doing. Ms. Dopf answered she was concerned about coming before the legislature because she knew the evaluation she brought was only reflective of one year's work. After seeing the evaluation she was proud to show the activity that had gone on even in that short time. Having a document that put together all the disparate information in various reports was excellent. The picture represented in the report showed the great needs in the state. This product was created by an independent evaluator, and the fact that it supported the two consultant positions was very telling.

Chopin Kiang, Diversity Consultant for the Nevada Department of Education, said he would like to highlight some of the compelling points contained in Exhibit G. The education forms referred to by Ms. Dopf and Assemblywoman Chowning were designed to help Nevada's schools increase the standards in the educational system in order to meet the growing demands of the business and public sectors. Through the Nevada Educational Reform Act (NERA) of 1997 and other educational initiatives, the state had instituted many educational reforms designed to increase state standards in core content areas as well as provide remediation to students and technical assistance to educators. For many of the state's linguistically and culturally diverse students, raising that level of expectation left them even further behind than their white schoolmates. The dropout rate for the states Hispanic students was 16 percent, compared to the overall rate of 9.9 percent. Mr. Kiang added the 9.9 percent overall rate in the state was nothing to be proud of either.

Mr. Kiang said only 1 out of 5 African American students who took the high school proficiency exam in the fall of 1998 passed the mathematics portion of the exam. That meant that 80 percent of African Americans in the state might face the prospect of not obtaining a standard high school diploma, or face the alternative of dropping out of school. As indicated before, the 28,000 limited-English proficiency students were not able to match the scores of their white peers in all subjects by a wide gap, nearly 20 percentile points on the Terra Nova indicator. With the ever-increasing numbers of immigrants coming into Nevada, by 2005 the likelihood of redefining majority and minority status in Nevada's schools would be a reckoning issue. Statewide, 30 percent of the students in school had been reported to be in categories other than white. With the increasing immigration from the European and Balkan regions, Nevada would also be seeing a dramatic increase in the need to meet the needs of the state's newest linguistically diverse students.

Mr. Kiang said he focused on the standards reform initiatives statewide, and had served on the Review Committee to identify effective remedial review programs for 1999. The committee identified and adopted the new effective remedial programs that would be used by schools statewide in accordance to NERA. Also, the Cultural Diversity Consultant provided leadership and coordinated the Nevada Department of Education's first Bias Review Committee to review the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam. That membership, and the logistical process of convening for review and training sessions were all part of Mr. Kiang's charge, with help from a few colleagues. That was another example of the focus on standards reform efforts that directly impacted the culturally and linguistically diverse kids.

Mr. Kiang had established the Graduation Rates Improvement Program in two areas of the state. One was in Winnemucca, at Albert Lowry High School, implemented at the request of Charlie Thomas, Director of Special Programs in the Humboldt County School District. The southern project site was at Mojave High School. After Mr. Kiang presented at the Clark County Dropout Prevention Workshop he invited any school principal to come forward if they wanted to participate in the pilot program. Dr. Gail Dixon offered her site and also sought assistance. Additionally, over 500 educators statewide had received services from the Cultural Diversity Consultant in the past year, directly through English as a Second Language (ESL) programs and cultural diversity seminars, workshops, and a major conference in Las Vegas. By June 30, 1999 an additional 200 teachers and educators would receive ESL and parent involvement training in-services.

Mr. Kiang said Nevada desperately needed more quality programs to address the increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Finally, if the Cultural Diversity Consultant position was allowed to continue, Mr. Kiang would work to bring the state additional federal dollars with the focus of raising all students' achievement scores, also to provide access for the diverse learners to technology, and expand effective programs that reduced dropout incidence. Mr. Kiang would also work to continue to be a catalyst between the Nevada Education Reform Act and its relationship to all the state's culturally and linguistically diverse students, in standards, assessment and professional development initiative.

Mr. Kiang thanked the committee for letting him share his passion, which was that all children could learn and meet standards in education, but only if the state was willing to invest in a proportionate manner, to create the quality of service that carried along the message "we care."

Fawn Lewis, Indian Education Consultant with the Nevada Department of Education, spoke in support of A.B. 357. She said for many American Indian students raising the level of expectations had placed them even farther behind than their white peers academically. Ms. Lewis said American Indian students passed the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam at a rate of 32.7 percent while their white peers passed the exam at a rate of 58.8 percent. American Indian students passed the reading part of the exam at a rate of 66.5 percent, while their white peers passed at a rate of 82.3 percent. American Indian students passed the writing part of the exam at a rate of 86.6 percent, while the white students passed at a rate of 92.1 percent. In addition, statistics of the Nevada Department of Education indicated for the 1996-97 school year American Indian students had a higher dropout rate of 12.6 percent, compared to the white student dropout rate of 8.3 percent.

Ms. Lewis then addressed some of the activities she had been involved in to help American Indian students be successful since she was hired one year ago. Ms. Lewis was an active member of the Test Bias Review Group, which reviewed all areas of the exam for bias. She also worked with the NDE to insure that American Indians were included on the Nevada Social Studies Standards Writing Team. In addition, Ms. Lewis provided technical assistance to the Council to Establish Academic Standards in Public Schools, insuring that culturally appropriate changes were made to state standards. Ms. Lewis had worked with the NDE Standards, Curricula and Assessment Team to provide training on the new standards in English Language Arts and Math to the Walker River Paiute Tribe and Schurz Elementary School.

Ms. Lewis created two pilot programs, in Lyon and Douglas Counties. Those programs addressed American Indian student needs regarding lowering the dropout rate, encouraging parental involvement, improving attendance rates, raising graduation rates, and increasing participation in federal programs. They also addressed identifying and using culturally appropriate material in the schools, creating student assistance programs, and the tracking of students. Those pilot programs were put into place without any additional funds from state or local sources. Ms. Lewis had provided training and technical assistance to a large number of programs and agencies. Those included the Nevada Indian Commission, the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, the Nevada Urban Indians, the Las Vegas Indian Center, Pyramid Lake High School and the Duckwater Day School.

Ms. Lewis created a newsletter that was sent out every other month to over 1,700 people. The newsletter addressed the importance of educational reform in the state and its impact on American Indian students. If the consultant position was allowed to continue, Ms. Lewis would work to bring in additional federal funds to focus on increasing the achievement levels of American Indian students. Ms. Lewis said she would increase the access of those students to technology and expand successful programs focused on reducing the dropout rate and increasing student performance. She would also continue to serve as a bridge between the Nevada Education Reform Act and its relationship to American Indian students in standards assessment and teacher training.

Ms. Dopf said she wanted the committee to understand that although one concern was to continue the employment of the two consultants, she was very certain with their skills and abilities finding employment would not be a problem. What she wanted to emphasize was the need for continued funding since without that support the students in question would ultimately be the ones who suffered.

Vice Chair Evans said although they were hired just over a year ago, both the consultants had accomplished in excess of what anyone was expecting in that short period of time. Clearly, not only their professionalism, but their concern and passion for their work came through.

Ms. Giunchigliani said she had known Mr. Kiang for 18 years, and she was overly impressed with the job both he and Ms. Lewis had done. For once it proved that the need was there to create those positions and the state had an obligation to deal with that need.

Mr. Dini said last summer he and Steve Pellegrini were discussing building a High-Tech center in Lyon County to give the kids there a chance to learn those skills. Lyon County was one of the fastest growing counties in the state, and by 2009 there would be 52,800 people living there, which was an increase of almost 56 percent. The county would be almost as large as Douglas County and Carson City combined. Mr. Dini said Fernley had become an industrial city, and was becoming a hot spot in northern Nevada.

Bus Scharmann, Dean of Off-Campus Programs at Western Nevada Community College (WNCC), said his responsibility was to deal with the outlying centers of WNCC. He addressed the commitment of WNCC to its operations in Lyon County and its cooperation with the school district. WNCC had been operating in Lyon County, mainly in Fernley and Yerington, for 27 years. Those operations had been primarily evening schools for adults in the community, but in the last few years WNCC had worked with the school district to develop dual credit and advanced placement opportunities for juniors and seniors in the high school. WNCC was able to operate in those communities using interactive video, and was able to expand its schedules a great deal so it was able to offer more courses for both youth and adults. WNCC had also tried to expand its education opportunities and education for industries in those communities.

Mr. Scharmann said it was time for the community college to establish a new connection in those communities. WNCC had been able to work very well with those communities, but it was time to move into the area of more video interactive opportunities for high school kids. The commitment of the school district indicated it was able to put the bell schedules together for all four high schools in the school district. With that improvement, WNCC would be able to offer many of its university transfer classes to kids in place of their honors programs or advanced placement programs.

Just as important was WNCC's work with industry in both communities. In Yerington WNCC was working out of office space behind Farmers Insurance. In Fernley WNCC was working in cooperation with the adult education program. Mr. Scharmann said in both communities WNCC needed facilities so that they could expand their daytime operations in order to meet the needs of growing industries in both communities.

Steve Pellegrini, Coordinator for the Yerington Center of WNCC, had worked in his current position for 18 years. He said he would like to give the committee an idea of what it was like to run a center in a small community when they were living hand to mouth for office space. For years, the program rented classrooms in Yerington High School for its office area, and yearly the office was moved from one room to another as the needs of the high school dictated.

Mr. Pellegrini said even after all the years the WNCC center had been in operation in Yerington, many people were surprised to hear there was even a college there. WNCC had a very difficult time building a viable presence in Yerington. Currently WNCC was serving approximately 180 individuals. The FTE count was up to 35. Mr. Pellegrini felt like WNCC had reached a plateau, but he also felt they could get beyond it. He thought the facility limited WNCC's growth in Yerington more than anything else did. For example, a growing segment of the population in the town were seniors, who typically did not like to go out after dark. In order to offer more daytime classes there needed to be a facility for WNCC to use during the day. Every industry that had looked at Yerington always asked what opportunities were offered through the community college to upgrade employee skills. Typically what WNCC was asked to do was provide computer rooms for those employees to use. It did not really work to have other classes during the day since the industries wanted their people to come down during the day. Again, this was not possible because of the lack of facility space to offer the daytime classes. Outside of that issue, Mr. Pellegrini said they were running computers in a room where the roof was perennially leaking on the machines, which he worried about. WNCC was also using classrooms that other teachers used during the day, and Mr. Pellegrini said it was an issue that the teachers had to put the rooms back the way they found them.

Helene Jesse, Dean of Institutional Advancement for WNCC, said economic diversification was a huge consideration for the State of Nevada. She added with the passage of Proposition V in California, this issue had become even more significant. Over the past six years, the Carson/Douglas/Lyon/Storey County area had been the manufacturing hub of the state. That area had over 300 manufacturers, with an aggregate 14 percent manufacturing employment base. Of particular note, Lyon County had the highest manufacturing employment base in the entire state at 24 percent. When one looked at the state demographer's projections over the next 10 years, one could see that again Lyon County had the highest population increase at 56 percent. When WNCC looked at the businesses that relocated to that area in 1998, there were two factors that prompted them to choose Nevada; quality of life, and quality of the labor force education and training. In order to continue to increase the diversity of Nevada's economy and decrease the reliance of the state on less stable forms of revenue and taxes, it made sense to create an environment to which manufacturing companies would continue to relocate. WNCC believed it made sense to look at the feasibility of building a High-Tech Center in Lyon County.

Michelle Dondero, President of WNCC, said WNCC had a college operation in Lyon County for 27 years, and needed to commit themselves to improving that operation, as Lyon County was one of the fastest growing counties in Western Nevada. Ms. Dondero added only 35 percent of Lyon County students went to college, which was even worse than the 37 percent of students who went to college statewide. She said this confirmed once more that access was determined by location, since the further a person was from the educational facility, the less apt they were to go to school. Education, in the next century, was going to be the key to. maintaining a viable community in Lyon County. Ms. Dondero said the proposed project was consistent with the planning that had been determined by the UCCSN Board of Regents.

Nat Lommori, Superintendent of Lyon County School District, said it was very exciting for both communities to have the opportunity to take a look at building a High-Tech Center. When the district first began looking into such a project, Mr. Lommori worked with the city of Yerington to discuss land options. He thought they might have a couple of sites secured for possible consideration. At Fernley High School Mr. Lommori set aside an 8-acre parcel for the future growth of that part of the county. Mr. Lommori said because the district's biggest school was Fernley with around 660 kids, the opportunity to offer a great number of curriculum alternatives was limited. By having interactive video opportunities, the district was going with a full set of classes throughout the county. Having the presence of a community college campus near the district's schools, it would really excite students. Also, having the dual credit program would allow those students to have a good start on college and offer an incentive to start college courses. Mr. Lommori said there was a great number of manufacturers and businesses that contacted his office and inquired about training the workforce.

Steve Snyder, County Manager for Lyon County, said he was in support of A.B. 360.

Damita Halcromb, Student Body President of WNCC, said when she went to see her constituents in Yerington, the facility was closed. She said she hoped the facility would be open during the day so she could visit with her constituents. She supported A.B. 360.

Mr. Dini said Steve Pellegrini was one of the most outstanding teachers in Nevada, and he was a great asset to the community.

Mrs. Chowning said she was able to tour the High-Tech Center in Las Vegas in District Four, and saw the most wonderful interaction between the high school kids who were leaving and the older couples coming into the facility. She thought that alone almost made the whole project worthwhile, since it helped young and old interact together.

There were no further questions or testimony on the bill. There was no action taken on the bill.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Cynthia M. Cendagorta

Committee Secretary

APPROVED BY:

Jan Evans, Vice Chair

DATE: