Regents approve early retirement for embattled chancellor

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada higher education regents approved an early retirement deal Thursday for Chancellor Dan Klaich after he said his role in developing a new college funding formula with lawmakers a few years ago has become a distraction.

Klaich was accused of misleading the Legislature about the relationship between his staff and their consultant, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, while the state worked in 2012 on a new method for distributing money among colleges.

"Legislatures can't legislate, the governor can't govern, when these are the types of antics being played," Steven Horsford, a Democratic former state senator who was chair of the legislative committee working on the formula, told the newspaper after reviewing the emails.

Critics including Democratic former Assemblyman William Horne said that the episode has eroded trust between the higher education system and lawmakers and would make it difficult to complete important policy work ahead of the 2017 legislative session.