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Public commenters urge stronger campus safety measures and protection for higher education funding
Summary
During the meeting’s public comment period speakers urged legislators to prioritize campus safety funding for Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) campuses and to address higher education funding formula and employee compensation concerns ahead of budget closings.
Public commenters urged the joint committees on May 1 to prioritize campus safety funding and to restore transparent, enrollment‑based higher education funding.
Kent Irvin of the Nevada Faculty Alliance urged the committees to consider the long-term consequences of moving away from an enrollment-based funding model for NSHE. “When you close the NSHE budgets, please consider that neither the full enrollment trends nor the need for per-student funding for wrap around services identified by the interim committee are being addressed,” Irvin said during public comment, referencing the abandonment of a prior weighted student credit-hour formula.
Doug Unger, also with the Nevada Faculty Alliance, called for increased safety investments following recent campus shootings nationally and at UNLV in December 2023. He asked legislators to fund cameras, centralized monitoring, additional campus police, security improvements and classroom doors that lock from the inside. “No matter any shortfalls to the budget, put saving lives first. Please make campus safety a top priority,” Unger said.
Ian Hartshorn, also on behalf of the Nevada Faculty Alliance, asked legislators to preserve recent gains for state employees and to consider new or amended revenue sources rather than balancing budget shortfalls on employee compensation.
Why it matters: Commenters tied public safety and education funding decisions to ongoing budget closings and urged the committees to prioritize life‑safety improvements for campuses and to address long-term funding formulas for higher education.
Ending
The committees took no immediate vote on the public comments but concluded the meeting after the public comment period.
