Congressman Steven Horsford’s visit to Pahrump for education and workforce

United States Representative for Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District Steven Horsford visited Pahrump this week for a roundtable with his constituents to discuss education and workforce development.

“I’m focused on ways in which we create opportunity for every person in every community,” Horsford told the Pahrump Valley Times. “Pahrump and Nye County are important communities. They matter.”

The roundtable discussion lasted a little over an hour and took place at Great Basin College’s Pahrump Valley Campus on Tuesday, March 10.

“Being able to hear directly from educators and students, from school officials about the needs here in the community, what’s working, what needs improvement, is why I’m here,” Horsford said after the roundtable ended.

Those in attendance included Doré Foskey of Pahrump’s Martin Luther King Foundation; Great Basin College Director of the Social Work Program Laura Debenham; Great Basin College Human Services Professor Oscar Sida; Great Basin College Vice President of Finance and Operations John Evans; Pahrump Community Library Director Kim Thomas; Library Board Trustee Ann Underdahl; and NyE Communities Coalition CEO Stacy Smith.

“I’m going away with even better insight on what we need to be doing to help promote education and workforce development in Pahrump,” the congressman added.

Also present at the Tuesday meeting was Nye County School District Director of Special Education Shanda Roderick; Nye County School District Trustee Robert White; Nye County School District Trustee David Harris; Nye County School District Trustee Chelsy Fischer; Nye County School District Superintendent Joe Gent; Nye County School District Assistant Superintendent Genoveva Lopez-Angelo; Great Basin College Academic Advisor Karina Lopez; and Great Basin College’s Pahrump Valley Campus Director Dr. Christopher Salute.

“It’s always good to have Congressman Horsford out. It’s always good to have anyone who’s at the state and federal level come and focus on Pahrump and Nye County, but specifically at Great Basin College,” Salute told the Times. “We do a lot for our community and so do our educators. We’re always working really hard. We want to just make sure that all of our efforts are matched with the integrity and resources of our representatives, and I think we heard that’s the case today.”

Many concerns were brought up by those in attendance, such as the rising cost of college tuition, the need for more health care workers in rural areas like Pahrump, and the overall call for more resources in Nye County’s local education system.

For these worries, Horsford acknowledged current challenges, citing recent tuition increases at the state level and a disinvestment in higher education at the federal level, federal cuts to health care, and the hollowing out of government agencies that help provide resources for education.

“The part that I think I am really trying to fight for right now in this moment is to hold the line against some of the most draconian cuts. I talked about the Medicaid and the trillion dollars of cuts to health care that disproportionately affect rural America, but the other is education [cuts] … So that alone should concern everyone around the table, because at a time when we should be building up resources at the federal level that specifically go to special education or students with different learning abilities, we need to be putting more resources into that funding,” Horsford said during the roundtable.

On the positive side, though, Steven Horsford highlighted opportunities like Pell Grants recently becoming available for vocational schools and Nevada’s awarded amount from the Rural Health Transformation Program, hoping local institutions like Great Basin College will receive a portion of those funds.

The congressman also encouraged those at the table to continue working hard in making progress where they can despite the challenges they may face in accomplishing bigger projects.

“What can we get in the shorter term to show the progress, to meet the needs for these students right now, over the next five years versus the next 20?” Steven Horsford explained during the roundtable.

Horsford addressed a Great Basin College student and a Pahrump Valley High School student in attendance at Tuesday’s roundtable.

“I always want to leave on more of an optimistic tone than anything, and the optimism I have is looking at these two young ladies right in front of me. It’s your future,” Horsford told the local students at the end of the discussion. “It’s what we’re trying to protect and trying to advance, is what you want to do with your lives. Whatever that is, whatever level of education that is. One, you get to determine it, and two, it should be accessible to you and it should be affordable to you.”

For more information about Congressman Steven Horsford and his work visit, horsford.house.gov.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com