Students’ numbers lower than projected

Terry Webster

Monday, Dec. 10, 2001 | 9:43 a.m.

The Clark County School District will remain the nation's sixth largest, based on its official enrollment figures.

Enrollment for the 2001-2002 school year -- 244,684 students -- represents an increase of about 5.9 percent over last year's enrollment of 231,125.

But it's still 1,597 students less than the 246,281 the district expected to have this year.

Enrollment is based on the number of students in school on a count day, which was Sept. 21. State law requires the count day to fall on the last day of the first attendance period, usually a Friday in September. Auditors then finalize the figures.

While the audit was still under way, officials could see that enrollment was not going to reach 246,000 students and began making adjustments to the budget.

Because the district's per-pupil funding is based on enrollment, the district plans to cut $3.4 million from the $1.2 billion budget to offset the difference, Chief Financial Officer Walt Rulffes said.

The School Board expects to cut about $10 million total from the budget during its regular meeting Thursday, to also respond to lower-than-expected state revenue.

"It's what I call a very tight, very constricted budget," Rulffes said.

The smaller-than-expected enrollment will not have any effect on the School District's building program, said Dusty Dickens, director of Demographics, Zoning and Realty.

"It's not going to slow down the building program at all," she said.

Next fall the district will open six elementary and two middle schools as part of the $2.5 billion building program.

During the last legislative session, lobbyists for the district argued that another enrollment count day should be added later in the year because students move into the district throughout the year, but it does not get any additional funding. The effort was unsuccessful.