ROLL CALL
When it comes to Nevada's voters, Barbara Cegavske represents the front lines
BY DAVID HIMMEL

These days, it seems rare to find a politician without a penchant for corruption, especially in southern Nevada, where a few county commissioners are awaiting their comeuppance. Many might joke that politicians lack a moral backbone - and realize the harsh truth in that humor.

But in District 8, state Sen. Barbara Cegavske is on a moral crusade. More of a common-sense crusade, really. On a charge to simplify government spending, minimize the state's involvement in business choices and ensure Nevada's school systems are accountable, Cegavske is eager to lead the 2007 legislative session without moral bankruptcy.

A Minnesota native, Cegavske has resided in Nevada for more than 30 years. A former 7-11 convenience store owner with her husband Tim and an involved mother, Cegavske started serving as a PTA President in her kids' elementary school in the mid-'80s. Upon hearing time and again that teachers didn't have enough money or school supplies, she wondered, "Why wasn't the state's money trickling down into the classrooms?"

"My kids are what prompted me to enter politics," Cegavske said. "I went to school trustee meetings, and they said it was the state legislature that wasn't giving the money to schools. The state said it was the federal government's fault because of all the mandates. But Washington said, 'We give you the money; it's up to you on how you spend it.' It was excuse after excuse."

With the strong support of Tim and their two sons, Adam and Bret, she took the steps to find answers and fix problems that were affecting her children and business. She served as District 5's Assemblywoman between 1997 and 2001. 

As a senator in the 2005 legislative session, she served as the Chair of the Legislative Operations & Elections Committee, Vice-Chair of the Human Resources & Education Committees and was a member of the Senate Finance Committee. 


At first, it was difficult to leave her family and operate in Carson City for 120 days every two years. But like all changes in life, her family grew from the experience. When Bret was in high school (he recently graduated from UNLV), teachers would bring up issues with him and he'd have to call Mom. He learned a lot about politics and the state of Nevada - especially when peers would rib him over the graduated driver's license issue. At the time of the bill's introduction, Adam and Bret were high school kids eager to get behind the wheel. But worst of all, he and Adam had to deal with Dad's cooking, which was more fast food than anything. Nevertheless, Cegavske's three main boys supported her ambition to better Nevada.

"It's good to have Tim as a soundboard," Cegavske said of her husband's opinions. "He is, after all, a constituent." 

Being a politician, though, can be tough on any family. The press and opponents' innuendos can be straining. However, it's part of the job description.

"It's hard to see Mom's name drug through the mud," Cegavske said on behalf of her family. "But if I can look at my husband, my kids and myself in the face, I'm doing a good job."

"I'm proud to see her keep chipping away," Tim said. "Things take time to change."

Since 1997, Cegavske has been working to get the Graduated Driver's License bill passed. While there is now a three-month restriction period for teenage motorists to not drive with passengers under 18 years old, Cegavske would like to see a six-month restriction. 

"It's been a real fight with the parties," she said. "In the Assembly, Democrats would not support it. They are more supportive of it now in the Senate, but it is total partisan politics."

In addition to the fight amongst parties in the Assembly, the rural areas of Nevada aren't huge supporters. They think the law should be different for them since kids start driving farm equipment at a much younger age and don't have the traffic volume of Las Vegas or Reno. But Cegavske charged on, showing through statistics and studies that there was a high number of incidents in the rural areas due to unfinished roads and darkness. There was proof from other states that had passed the bill that it can cut down on teenage driving deaths. 

Cegavske stresses the matter is a public-safety issue, and it's discouraging that the fight is now 9 years old.

"I didn't think that something that made sense and was a public-safety issue would be such a struggle," Cegavske said. "It would be a slam dunk for us and each year I do get closer to having it passed." 

Always a pillar of support, Tim said the only reason it's such a struggle is because there is a Republican leading the charge for it. "In all other areas, this program is supported by Democrats."


Since she entered politics because of bureaucrats passing the buck, education accountability is a main focus for Cegavske in the 2007 legislative session. The issue is not one with just a single bad guy; there are a lot of entities stalling a better education system.

"The teachers and schools keep saying, 'We want more money.' Well, as a business person, you want to show that you're getting a return for your money," she said. 

Cegavske agrees that teachers who are consistent in high performance should definitely be rewarded. But teachers who are not performing need to be doing something else, plain and simple. Cegavske has explored the possibility and taken the idea of teachers having their own contract to the Clark County School District and another with the teachers union. A contract could be written to state that when the teacher is not in that nine-month period of regular school sessions, he or she could help with remediation for kids who need summer tutoring or those kids on track break from a 12-month school.

"But the union doesn't want teachers to have separate contracts because they want control of the money," she said.

The way she sees it, teachers should be able to buy into what they're doing. If they can better decide their terms and make more money, then that could very well be the incentive needed for better performance. It's a matter of choice and, in that, opportunity.

The split of the school district itself could also be beneficial to the classrooms. But again, the union wouldn't have it, as numerous school districts would create contract negotiation issues. And that establishes a lack of monetary control for the union.

Cegavske - a member of the Parent Hall of Fame, an award bestowed by CCSD upon involved parents - is behind a payback program. An example would be vocational schools like the one in Henderson. The school offers specialized classes allowing the students to learn their core subjects through a specific interest. Lesson plans like this are what will help students - ideally like the teachers who write their own contracts - buy into their education.

"Right now kids don't know what is out there as far as careers go, and we don't do a good job of explaining. We just put them through college blindly," Cegavske said. The vocational school in Henderson currently ends the class day at 1:30 in the afternoon. Cegavske would like to see the school have a second shift. There is already a waiting list to get into the school, and with a 98-percent retention and graduation rate, it makes sense.

There's a lot of talk about class-size reduction, but it's not as simple an issue as one might think. 

"While I support smaller class sizes, currently there is no flexibility to implement it properly," Cegavske said. "We all want smaller class sizes, but to mandate something through law that you can't fulfill makes no sense and is not good public policy."

Flexibility is a much more effective option. Say there is a bulge in fourth and fifth grade classes: With a flexibility program, you can bring in more teachers where they are directly needed. Right now, class-size reduction is only appropriated for grades kindergarten through third. 

"Once the kids get out of third grade, they are shoved into these ballooned classes, and what good has it done?" Cegavske asked.

Although her sons were educated through public schools and colleges (Adam went to UNR, creating a small brotherly rivalry to Bret's UNLV), she says privatization of schools is a good thing. "It's healthy competition for the public schools."

She knows that not every school system is right for each child. The drop-out rate is so high because in the current system, Nevada sets students up to fail. If parents and kids alike can choose their school and education, then you get that buy-in Cegavske thinks is so important. 

"The school district cannot at this time even house and facilitate all of the students," Cegavske offered. "We privatize other things in the state; why wouldn't we do that?"

The over-involvement of government in schools seems to encourage failure and hinder choice. She is closely tied in with the Nevada P-16, which will coordinate the education, business and political communities to prepare high school graduates for a career in the Nevada workforce through credit-bearing work in college or during summer vacations.


One frustration she knows teachers experience is the large number of non-English speaking students. "There are 51 known languages spoken in our [Clark County] school district and 108 unknown languages. How do you, as a teacher, understand and teach that? It's something you can't do."

With that much diversity in the school system, Cegavske says the best answer is English-immersion classes. These classes will teach the core lesson entirely in English. Once the student has an understanding of the language, he or she will move into the regular classes. It's not a remedial or special-education class, but an effort to get them into the system so they can easily learn. And sure, it takes some stress off the teachers. As a whole, these classes move the education process along more fluently.

This is a problem directly related to the hot-button issue of illegal immigration. Cegavske knows that amnesty does not work. But the borders must be closed. Should people want to immigrate to Nevada, they should do so - legally.

"I've talked to several constituents who are from other countries and have had to go through the pain and agony of becoming a legal citizen," she explains. "They support legal immigration."

During the 2007 legislative session, Cegavske will be looking into the legality of penalizing a Nevada business person who knowingly hires illegal immigrants. There is an agency in effect now that makes sure businesses are in compliance with the business license, and if they're not, they can be shut down.

Immigration is more of a federal issue, but Cegavske looks at it and thinks that a state should be able to hold its citizens responsible to following its laws. 

"It's tough because the federal law may supercede anything we do here regarding that," she said.


In her efforts to simplify the legislative process, one of Cegavske's proudest moments serving in the Senate was in 2003, standing against the largest tax increase in Nevada history. There were 20 tax plans presented that year and half never even had a public hearing.

"We sent a message that we didn't want a gross receipts tax; we sent a message that we didn't need the money," she said. And she was right because Nevada - post-2003 tax increases - had a surplus and even a refund. She likened it to the state not wanting to live within its means. As taxpayers have to live within their means, government must do the same. It's not an open credit card.

The next legislative session will give Cegavske an opportunity to keep property taxes from rising, as she tried to do in 2005 when she voted to freeze them (which did not pass). Currently, if property values continue to rise, annual bills could increase as much as 36 percent over the next 10 years. 

She is also working to get all Nevadans a $500 property tax credit. And while this is good news, she fears that the 2007 gang will see problems when people realize that there was not a 3-percent tax cap on property taxes as it appeared when the proposal was sold to Nevada citizens. She would like to see spending caps and budget surpluses go toward reducing property taxes for all homeowners. 

With her family behind her, Cegavske is ready to keep things simple and clean. Tim is proud that she's never sold her vote to anyone. She's trying to do what is in the best interest of her district, and more so all Nevadans.

Cegavske will often mention her theory of buying in to something: If someone really gets behind an idea, the success rate will be paramount. Cegavske bought into Nevada years ago and still does today. LW