CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons decided Thursday to accept $83 million in one-time federal education funds and said he hopes it will be used to reduce class sizes in the upcoming school year.

Officials say the money will create or save roughly 1,400 education jobs in a state that faces record unemployment and a $3 billion shortfall — roughly half the $6.8 billion, two-year budget passed in 2009.

Lawmakers eased class size requirements during a special session in February, and Gibbons had proposed eliminating those laws, arguing the mandate is never fully funded by the Legislature anyway, or money is diverted for other uses.

Gibbons said using the one-shot money to fully fund class size reduction for a year would enable Nevada to study whether small classes actually improve student achievement and performance.

The governor on Wednesday said he hadn’t decided whether to accept the funds, part of $26 billion jobs bill passed by the House and signed by the president earlier this week. Gibbons said he wanted to make sure the funding didn’t come with ongoing financial obligations for the state.

The federal legislation also includes $79 million in matching Medicaid funding, which had already been included in the state’s budget.

Gibbons said he spoke with state Superintendent Keith Rheault and the superintendents in Nevada’s two largest counties, who assured him the money would best be used to hire more teachers not only for primary grades, but upper elementary and some high school course such as math.

Gibbons earlier said he opposed using any federal funds for teacher raises, and reiterated his position Thursday.

“We need to stop using education funds to pay for union dues and layers of bureaucracy,” he said in a written statement.

Officials of the Washoe County School District, which has cut more than $77 million in the last three years and most recently lost its chance for additional federal funding with Race to the Top, were pleased with Gibbons’ decision to approve the money.

“We are pleased that the governor showed leadership and set politics aside for the students of Nevada,” said Craig Hulse, district director of government affairs. “While he may not have viewed this as an ideal way to fund public education, by accepting this money, he’s showing confidence in his 17 superintendents across the state that they will use these federal dollars wisely.”

Tribune education reporter Jessica Garcia contributed to this report.