Rulffes: I’ll start the cuts at the top

Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 | 2:05 p.m.

If a shortfall in state funding means cutting millions from the K-12 budget, Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes said he's taking the first hit himself.

Rulffes plans to turn back the 4 percent pay hike he's due to receive (along with the rest of the district's administrators) in the 2008-09 fiscal year. The district's teachers are also scheduled for a 4 percent salary increase, and Rulffes said he has no plans to cut the salaries of any employee.

"If the economy is down and some cuts are inevitable, we're going to start at the top with my office," Rulffes told me. "I need to set an example."

Gibbons wants 4.5 percent trimmed off the state' K-12 budget, which translates to about $93 million statewide. The bulk of the cuts would be in Clark County, the state's largest school district.

Rulffes annual salary is about $300,000. His contract runs through August 2010, and the Clark County School Board will hold its annual evaluation of its chief executive Monday. While it's unlikely the School Board would boost Rulffes' pay this year, given the current economic climate, Rulffes said he would also decline any such offer.

The superintendent's decision is largely symbolic, since the $12,000 shaved off his salary won't make a dent in the more than $60 million in cuts facing the district. But the underlying message wasn't lost on Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association.

"I think it's a nice gesture on his part," said Holloway, whose organization represents the majority of the district's 18,000 teachers. "He's tried to do the right thing."

New programs, including more full-day kindergarten classes for at-risk students and the launching of the statewide "empowerment schools" initiative are expected to move to the back burner. Rulffes said he's also anticipating a hiring freeze, which he does not expect to extend to classroom teachers.

However, Rulffes said he has put a hold on all non-essential travel requests, and some construction projects may also be delayed.

The superintendent's evaluation will be held at 9 a.m. at the district's administrative building, 5100 W. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas.