Educators for Harry Reid

Las Vegas Sun, 06/01/2010 - Whoever is elected to Congress in November will review the No Child Left Behind law, looking for ways to improve the landmark federal legislation that uses standardized tests to judge schools’ progress. It’s part of the reauthorization process for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which allocates funding to the nation’s public schools.

The Obama administration is seeking several key changes, including a shift away from automatically allocating dollars based on enrollment and a move toward competitive grants such as “Race to the Top.” Winning states will share $4.4 billion for innovation, reform and teacher development. (Nevada, which missed the deadline for the first round of grant awards because of a conflict in state statute that had to be revised by the Legislature, is one of 38 states competing in the second round.)

Las Vegas Sun, 4/16/10 - Nevada is getting $23.4 million in federal Recovery Act funds to help low-performing schools.

Rep. Shelley Berkley made the announcement this morning, saying the money will help some of Clark County's underperforming schools. The funds awarded to Nevada under the School Improvement Grants program will be distributed by the state to local school districts.

Las Vegas Sun, 3/15/2010 - Washington — A popular proposal among Republicans in Nevada and nationwide is to take unspent money from the $787 billion economic recovery act — the stimulus bill — and return it to Washington, where it can be used for tax cuts or to pay down the national debt.

The idea has been popular on the campaign trail, where the leading Republican candidates in the U.S. Senate race in Nevada, Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian, both want unallocated stimulus money returned.

When our economy narrowly avoided a catastrophic depression, I began working with President Obama to stop the bleeding and get things moving in the right direction. We've seen evidence of a recovery over the last year, but I know that we need to do more to create and save jobs. And so for the rest of this Congress and for as long as it takes, I plan on introducing legislation specifically crafted to build on the success of the Recovery Act. I got started last week by introducing a bill that's going to save and create jobs, plain and simple.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and it's clear that the projects being funded have helped and are going to continue to help Nevada weather this recession. Whether they say it to the media or not is one thing, but the fact is that both Republicans and Democrats have asked for and welcomed Recovery Act funds to their home states and districts. I know it's done some good in Nevada so far -- funding renewable energy projects, helping struggling families afford to keep their health insurance, and easing the burden on small businesses so they can get back to hiring people.

UNLV Faculty Alliance Blog, 01/06/2010 - The Nevada Faculty Alliance Political Action Committee today announced its endorsement of Senator Harry Reid for re-election to the United States Senate. The announcement followed a unanimous vote of the 14-member NFA state board.

The NFA will now lend its support to the campaign by joining “Educators for Reid,” which the NFA is encouraging its members and all faculty and staff are encouraged to join by visiting harryreid.com/educators/

Faculty Alliance state president Scott Huber, a biology professor at Truckee Meadows Community College, praised Senator Reid’s longstanding record of support for making quality higher education affordable for Nevada students. He noted in particular that Senator Reid has secured over $230 million in federal funding over the past four years for research projects at Nevada’s colleges and universities and that he had succeeded in getting the Senate to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included nearly $200 million in stabilization funds for Nevada higher education and increased Pell Grants and other financial aid for students. This Act helped prevent layoffs of staff and limited tuition increases and cutbacks in classes for students.

Las Vegas Sun, 12/16/09 - Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act nearly eight years ago, public schools have focused on raising the test scores of their lowest achieving students.

That has rankled some parents of students who not only meet but far exceed state and federal education standards. Their children, they say, are equally entitled to educational opportunities that challenge them and help them reach their potential.