The other board members, Secretary of State Ross Miller and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, said the decision should be left to the 2009 Legislature. Miller said any partial shutdowns of certain areas of the prison in Carson City also should be delayed.
Corrections Director Howard Skolnik has said closure of the medium-security prison, dating to the 1870s, would save about $18 million. He already has shut down two units and had planned to close a third.
The board acted after hearing from several prison guards and their representatives, who said shutting down the prison would be a costly mistake that would mean job losses or difficult relocations to other prisons for employees, and that would hurt Carson City's economy.
The correctional officers also complained that they weren't getting enough information from Skolnik or other superiors about plans for the prison. They also argued that NSP has gone through many upgrades over the years and is safe and secure despite its age.
Attorney James Boles of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' Nevada Local 4041 which represents guards, called for an "up or down" vote at the Prison Board's next meeting on whether to keep Skolnik on as director.
Skolnik said after Tuesday's meeting that he answers to the governor, and Gibbons said that Skolnik has his support. The director also said he planned to talk with employees concerned about the NSP closure to see whether he could deal with some of their concerns.
The 2-1 vote to hold off on the NSP closure follows recent opposition to the shutdown plan from key lawmakers. That opposition developed at a meeting of the lawmakers' Interim Finance Committee and also at a recent special session late last year.
At Tuesday's meeting, Skolnik said he didn't want to "go head to head" with legislators immediately before the start of their 2009 session, which opens Feb. 2.
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