School district in for tough time with lawmakers

Terry Webster

Monday, Jan. 22, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

With requests of nearly $10 million for additional state funding and a long wish list, Clark County School District officials are anticipating a difficult legislative session.

Four out of five bill drafts the district is submitting to the 2001 Legislature ask for money: $3.9 million for teacher recruiting incentives, a $3.4 million pilot program to test a longer day at six middle schools, $2 million for upgrades to the district's Channel 10 television station and a $500,000 study on how to fund education. A fifth proposed bill would free the district from a requirement to hire teachers of charter schools that close.

"It's going to be tough," Joyce Haldeman, the district's executive director of community and government relations, said.

The district's requests are independent of Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget for education, which will be released tonight with his state spending plan for the biennium.

Superintendent Carlos Garcia has said the prospect of getting more money out of the state isn't good.

And that could hurt a district that already has shaved some $50 million from its $1.1 billion budget over the past two years, he said.

"If we get any leaner, we will have no place else to go but programs," Haldeman agreed.

Garcia already has warned that programs like art, music and athletics could be cut if the district's financial picture doesn't improve.

"I feel like an alarm clock," Garcia said last week. "I guess this is a wake-up call."

One school district bill request hopes to address the problem over the long term. The $500,000 request would pay for a comprehensive study of long- and short-term general operating and capital funding for education, along with a report on non-funded mandates, particularly those related to special education.

The request points to skyrocketing enrollment, a competitive labor market, higher expectations and dwindling revenue sources as the key reasons for the study.

The largest chunk of money would provide a three-pronged approach to beefing up teacher recruitment over a two-year period. The district hires about 1,400 teachers annually.

"We just aren't competitive anymore," said Haldeman, referring to higher starting salaries and signing incentives offered by other school districts.

The bill draft request calls for $1.9 million for a program to pay tuition costs for 560 support staff and substitute teachers who want to become permanent teachers. An additional $1.5 million would go for statewide signing bonuses of $3,000 apiece for 250 teachers to be placed in high-need areas.

Additionally, it calls for $500,000 for statewide support of the National Board Certification Program for teachers.

Two provisions allow for waiving citizenship requirements and rehiring retired teachers.

That means the state could allow teaching applicants with temporary visas and "appropriate academic credentials" to be licensed for high-needs areas. Further, retired employees with a minimum of 30 years' experience could be hired with no penalty to their retirement benefits.

For students, a pilot program aimed at increasing performance on the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam would affect six middle schools. According to school documents, at least three of the six schools chosen for the test would be low-achieving schools.

Haldeman said the bill request is grew out of concerns over student achievement on the High School Proficiency Exam, which is required to get a diploma.

It seeks to increase the school day by 20 minutes each day over the next two years at six middle schools. The additional school time would be used for instruction and remediation for students. A study would be used to analyze the program's effectiveness.

School officials also believe the upgrade of the district's television station to a digital system will help provide statewide distance learning opportunities for students and professional development training for teachers.

"This system serves well the needs of high-risk students and the diverse needs of employees without producing costly duplication between agencies," the bill draft reads.

Over a two-year period, the district wants a total of $1 million to design programs for students likely to drop out of school and distribute them via satellite, cable, videotapes and other media.

An additional $1 million, paid over two years, would complement an $8 million digital conversion project under way at the district's KLVX Communications Group.

The only draft bill that does not ask for money seeks to free the district from a requirement that it hire employees who worked for charter schools that close.

The district says it would rehire teachers who went to charter schools from its own ranks into a comparable position, but it does not want to be required to hire others.

Pointing to administrative costs, the district seeks to retain 3 percent of the state per-pupil allocation given to charter schools.

To complement to its requests, the district has drawn up a five-part platform to present to state lawmakers.

The district is requesting full funding of all state mandates and increased funding to address High School Proficiency Exam failures, dropout rates, transportation and safety concerns.

Other areas are initiatives for recruiting and retaining teachers, retention of all current funding, the identification of "a stable and substantial funding source," and the consideration of items presented in past legislative sessions.

Items making a repeat performance on the district's wish list include maintaining the confidentiality of superintendent applicants until finalists are selected and negotiations are under way, the establishment of a three-year probationary period with an option by the district to reduce it to one year on a case-by-case basis, and opposition to school vouchers.