Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 46–Senators Raggio, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O’Connell, O’Donnell, Porter, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener
Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Dini, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Cegavske, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Hettrick, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Smith, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams
Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Urging the City of Sparks to name a park in the memory of Jeanne L.Botts.
Whereas, Jeanne L. Botts was born on June 1, 1948, in Reno, Nevada;
and
Whereas, Jeanne was a life-long Nevadan, having lived in various
areas throughout this state, including Virginia City, Toulon, Lovelock,
McDermitt, Carson City and Sparks; and
Whereas, Jeanne attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where she
majored in home economics; and
Whereas, After graduation from the University and employment as a
nutrition education specialist for the Nevada Cooperative Extension
Service in Reno, Jeanne moved to McDermitt, where she worked as an
assayer at the McDermitt mine; and
Whereas, While in McDermitt, Jeanne became interested in public
education and went on to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of
the Humboldt County School District and President of the Nevada School
Boards Association, as well as chief negotiator for teacher contracts; and
Whereas, In the early 1980s, Jeanne moved to Carson City and began
her long career in service to the State of Nevada, where she held the
positions of Education Coordinator for the Nevada Department of
Commerce, Deputy Commissioner of Insurance and Senior Program
Analyst for the Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel
Bureau; and
Whereas, Jeanne’s comprehensive knowledge of Nevada’s system of
public education, educational finance and the Nevada Plan was without
parallel, and many legislators and staff relied upon her expertise and her
willingness to explain these complex issues; and
Whereas, During the 1997 session of the Nevada Legislature, Jeanne
worked countless hours in assisting with the development and preparation
of the “Nevada Education Reform Act,” which is a sweeping reform that
provides for accountability of public schools and adopts rigorous academic
standards to ensure that the school children in the City of Sparks and all of
Nevada’s school children can perform at a high level of academic
achievement in the global economy of the 21st century; and
Whereas, The high academic standards adopted by the Nevada
Education Reform Act serve as a strong foundation today for the
classroom
instruction provided to school children in the City of Sparks and all of
Nevada’s school children; and
Whereas, As the first Chief of the Legislative Bureau of Educational
Accountability and Program Evaluation in the Fiscal Analysis Division of
the Legislative Counsel Bureau, Jeanne assisted public schools, including
schools in the City of Sparks, in securing the remediation funding
necessary to ensure that students were prepared to meet the rigorous
academic standards, resulting in increased academic achievement of those
students; and
Whereas, Jeanne’s commitment to public education and her steadfast
support of professional development for teachers contributed to the
development of four regional training programs for the professional
development of teachers, one of which is located in Washoe County and
provides exemplary training and assistance to teachers employed at public
schools in the City of Sparks; and
Whereas, After 10 years of service to the Legislative Counsel Bureau,
Jeanne became the Senior Director of Business and Financial Services for
the Washoe County School District, where she immediately took charge
and supervised a district-wide, in-depth review of the financial process of
the school district, which resulted in increased per-pupil funding for the
students enrolled in public schools in the Cities of Sparks and Reno; and
Whereas, In October 2000, Jeanne was awarded an Honorary Degree
of Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Nevada, Reno, in
recognition of her service to Nevada’s system of public education and to
Nevada’s school children; and
Whereas, In the fall of 1999, Jeanne was diagnosed with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,”
and she endured that disease with the same integrity, perseverance,
courage and forthrightness that marked her professional career; and
Whereas, During her final year of life, Jeanne was generally confined
to her home because she was physically unable to move, but she was able
to view the outside world because her home in Sparks was located by a
proposed 2-acre park at Wingfield Springs; and
Whereas, Jeanne spent many hours in her home looking through a
window that faced the proposed park, and she was grateful for her
“window to the world” because it allowed her to remain connected to life
by watching people interact and enjoying the natural beauty of the
landscape; and
Whereas, Although Jeanne lost her battle with ALS on March 9, 2001,
her legacy is reflected in the vastly improved system of public education
in this state, the benefits of which the school children in the City of Sparks
and the rest of Nevada will continue to reap for many years to come; now,
Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly
Concurring, That the members of the 71st session of the Nevada
Legislature hereby urge the City of Sparks to recognize the life-long
accomplishments and contributions of Jeanne L. Botts by naming the
proposed park at Wingfield Springs the “J. L. Botts Memorial Park” in her
memory; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy
of this resolution to Stan Sherer, Director of the Parks and Recreation
Department of the City of Sparks, and James P. Dana Jr., Jeanne’s long
-time companion and friend.
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