Monday, June 1, 2009
By Emily Richmond

During a visit to Centennial High School on Thursday, Rep. Dina Titus said she’s committed to helping agencies in Nevada qualify for as many federal stimulus dollars as possible, particularly public schools.

With the first round of education funding on its way and more to be made available in the fall, the Democrat told the campuses in her Southern Nevada district that her staff will help them navigate the application process, rather than wait for larger grants to flow through the Nevada Education Department.

Of particular interest to Titus is the $1 billion allocated for dropout prevention programs at Title I schools, which serve the largest populations of at-risk students. Too many Clark County schools are the equivalent of “dropout factories,” Titus said.

She was at Centennial to congratulate the Navy Junior ROTC on winning the national championship last month in Pensacola, Fla. The school’s cadets swept top honors in both the academic and athletic categories.

Centennial’s program is proof “that the possibility to excel is there,” Titus said. “That’s because teachers are so committed and do more with less. If we had the needed resources it wouldn’t be just one school winning awards. Everybody would be moving up and improve the graduation rate.”

Asked whether she ever imagined how she might be governing the state today had she won the 2006 gubernatorial race, Titus smiled.

“I have no regrets about where I am,” Titus said. “It’s very exciting to feel like you’re accomplishing something.”

Tags: education, Recovery and Reinvestment Act