School district reorganization will cost in new offices

Terry Webster

Tuesday, April 10, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

Regional offices

The Clark County School District has decided on sites for the new regions' temporary offices, which are expected to be open by July 1.

Northwest region Assistant Superintendent Leonard Paul, Brinley Middle School, 2480 Maverick St., near Smoke Ranch Road and Jones Boulevard.

Northeast region Assistant Superintendent Marsh Irvin, Mojave High School, 5302 Goldfield St., North Las Vegas, near Ann Road and Fifth Street.

East Central region Assistant Superintendent Maurice Flores, (School Board) office, 4546 E. Charleston Blvd.

Southeast region Assistant Superintendent Edward Goldman, Vo-Tech High School, 5710 Mountain Vista St.

Southwest region Assistant Superintendent Allen Coles, Cashman Middle School, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road.

The Clark County School District will spend most of the expected savings from its reorganization plan on temporary offices for the five new regional service centers.

In addition, district officials are looking at long-term plans to build permanent offices for the regional superintendents and their staffs.

The five regions are part of Superintendent Carlos Garcia's plan to break the school district into smaller units while leaving it whole. The intent is to raise student achievement and make the district, the country's sixth largest, more responsive to the public.

Immediate plans call for the centers to be located in portable classroom units on school campuses or in existing office space.

The temporary offices could cost the district up to $440,000.

The school district had estimated the reorganization will save $551,000 from the 2000-01 budget by eliminating unfilled positions.

Four of the regional offices -- northeast, southeast, southwest and east central -- are slated for portable classrooms on school sites. The district is purchasing three portable units for each site at a cost of $70,000 to $80,000 each. The portable offices, or trailers, each measure 24 by 60 feet.

The estimate does not include additional costs for utility hookups and site preparations, Pat Herron, facilities division assistant superintendent, said.

The northwest regional office will be located in either an addition being built at Brinley Middle School or in portable classrooms. The addition was already planned for construction, Herron said.

If the northwest regional office is placed in portables, it would bring the tab for new portables up to $440,000.

The units are expected to arrive in late June and should be set up by July.

"All of this is somewhat subject to change," Herron said. "This is where we are at right now."

The new regional superintendents, who each will work with two assistant regional superintendents, won't likely stay in temporary units forever.

Chief Financial Officer Walt Rulffes said the district is looking at building regional offices.

Dusty Dickens, director of demographics, zoning and realty, supported that contention.

"There are several options being talked about," Dickens said. "One is having them (the offices) put on school sites."

Some school sites, Dickens said, are 15 acres when only 12.5 acres are required. Another option is purchasing federal Bureau of Land Management land.

"For the short term, we want to get these offices established," Dickens said.

School officials said they did not have cost estimates for the proposed permanent offices or a schedule for when they would be built.

"To my knowledge, that has not yet been budgeted," Herron said.

Also under the reorganization, two area School Board offices will be combined with the regional centers.

The district is eliminating the southeast area board office at 12 Commerce Center Drive in Henderson and the Hidden Canyon board office at 3925 N. Martin Luther King Blvd. The district presently leases space for those offices, and the leases will not be renewed when they expire, by October.

School Board President Mary Beth Scow said board members who used those offices will conduct their work in portable units for the regional offices and at the Education Center, 2832 East Flamingo Road. Scow, who represents a southeast district, has worked out of the Henderson office.

Scow said the district is looking at school sites slated for construction as possibilities for permanent regional office sites.

Terry Webster

covers education for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4091 or by e-mail at terry@lasvegassun.com.