School Board approves budget of $1.2 billion

Terry Webster

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 11:04 a.m.

The Clark County School Board approved a $1.2 billion budget Wednesday that Superintendent Carlos Garcia called unrealistic but necessary, given the funding climate in the state Legislature.

The budget as approved includes $14 million in cuts. It would increase the distance high school students would have to walk to school from two to three miles and budget for less growth than the district has experienced in recent years.

The district every year budgets for 1 percent to 2 percent less staffing than its growth estimates but always includes money to hire more teachers in case growth exceeds estimates. This year, that cushion will be gone.

If growth exceeds this year's estimates, substitute teachers will fill the extra classrooms, officials said.

Garcia said such a hiring deferment is, in his opinion, the most severe cost-cutting measure.

"If that happens, we will have to cut from some other area," Garcia said. "It's unrealistic."

As it stands, many classrooms could be staffed with subs this fall. The district needs to hire between 1,500 and 2,000 new teachers for the fall and plans to open 16 new schools. At last count, about 200 new teachers were hired.

The lean budget was based on education funding proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn and being considered in the state Legislature.

Guinn did not allow for teacher raises but included a 4 percent to 5 percent one-time bonus. He also has proposed a hiring bonus of $2,000 for new teachers, to be raised to $2,500 in 2002-03

The school district budget allows for no employee raises, reflecting the governor's budget.

The district receives its funding from the state and cannot levy taxes of its own.

The district is hoping for a $30 increase in per-pupil funding, bringing the amount of state aid to $3,660 for each student.

If the Legislature comes through with sufficient money, school officials say they will retract plans to reduce teacher staffing projections and increase the walking distance for high school students.

But if the close of the legislative session in about three weeks brings no good news for the district, additional cuts could come.

Garcia said in a worst-case scenario, additional cuts could directly affect student programs.

School officials were torn about raising the walking limit for high school students from two to three miles, for a savings of $1.2 million in transportation costs.

"I think two miles is too far already," Garcia said.

Moulton said it will affect the students the district needs to reach the most.

"In ninth grade, we have more dropouts than anytime else," she said.

Another measure proposed to save $1.3 million will affect 15 elementary schools in the fall. The schools will be taken off a multiple-track, year-round schedule and placed on a one-track, year-round schedule.

The district also will hold off on implementing an experimental block scheduling program, for a savings of $2.7 million. Block scheduling would have allowed high school students the opportunity to take more classes per semester.

"I think the cuts are as far away from students as they possibly can be," board President Mary Beth Scow said.