Last week the Bonanza printed a guest column by Cindy Reid, wife of Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Rory Reid, written in response to my June 26 column in the print edition of the Bonanza titled: “Dissecting Rory Reid’s education plan.”

Her column was a response, not a rebuttal, since I had earlier expressed my admiration (and that of many Republicans) for her husband’s education proposals. Her purpose was to inform readers of the experiences she and Rory shared in bringing the plan into existence. It’s nice to know that a single small voice in Incline Village can be heard in top Democratic echelons in populous Clark County.

In the mean time, Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Sandoval has issued his education plan for Nevada. It encompasses the main proposals of the Reid plan (funding based on number of students; merit pay for teachers; if students fail, fire teachers and administrators; evaluate schools/teachers based on improvement in student performance; test to pin point remediation needs; school choice; no new taxes; and better use of existing funding) but goes quite a bit further.

The Sandoval plan would additionally: (1) abolish social promotion, (2) expand visual and distance learning opportunities, (3) provide merit pay for both teachers and principals, (3) assign letter performance grades to schools, (4) establish a Nevada Charter School Institute to depoliticize granting of new charters, (5) privatize services such as cafeterias, facilities management and human resources, (6) reform Nevada’s teacher licensure laws so more professionals can enter the field and (7) implement a voucher program which would allow parents to send their kids to any school of their choice.

For the rest of the article, go to Jim Clark: Sandoval’s education plan ups the ante