By Kyle Roerink (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 | 12:30 p.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval delivers the State of the State address at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

The top brass of UNLV and the Nevada System of Higher Education lobbied lawmakers today for $27 million in upfront funding for a medical school in Las Vegas, instead of the $8.3 million proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The funding push highlights the paramount challenge UNLV must overcome if it wants to enroll an inaugural class by 2017: raising state and private funds to pay for the school.

The effort also showcases a budget battle pitting lawmakers to choose between funding a high-profile item all at once or incrementally.

NSHE requested $27 million for the medical school this year, calling the sum a small amount for a school that will have an estimated $350 million backing from philanthropists.

The governor has signaled he will support $27 million for the school, but he doesnt want to fund it all at once.

He wants $8.3 million to go to UNLV in the next two years and the remainder to follow in the next biennium.

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Education officials lobby for $27 million for UNLV medical school