"Nevada: 50th in the Nation for Education" – To diversify, Nevada must better educate, community leaders conclude

The people who champion low state taxes as a way to recruit businesses to Nevada are undermining the state’s future by not advocating what businesses really need for success: better schools.

That is the conclusion reached by 40 community leaders who examined the role of education in diversifying Nevada’s economy.

If low tax rates were the key to attracting businesses, Silicon Valley-style economic clusters would be sprouting in Nevada rather than in Northern California, Seattle, Boston or North Carolina’s Research Triangle, the group said.

Nevada’s historically stingy funding of K-12 and higher education is the foundation of a report — "Nevada: 50th in the Nation for Education" http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/pdfs/blogs/documents/2010/12/09/2010LiedWhitePaper.pdf — prepared by state leaders in fields such as banking, architecture and real estate. The report says Nevada will never rise above its dependence on boom and bust cycles tied to tourism and construction if its government leaders continue to depend on low taxes — instead of top-notch schools — as their ace in the hole for attracting businesses.

By Buck Wargo

Full Story: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/dec/10/diversify-nevada-must-better-educate/