Savings expected in school regions

Terry Webster

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 9:06 a.m.

Clark County School District officials released figures Wednesday showing that the reorganization of the district into five smaller regions will result in a savings of $882,150 in operating funds.

That does not include $4.8 million to be spent to construct buildings for the five new regional superintendents, a one-time cost that does not come from operating funds, which pay for salaries, books and other such costs.

The savings came from deleting $7.8 million from curriculum and professional development, instructional offices, special education administration, the School Board office, business and finance operations, facilities administration and human resources administration.

The district redistributed $6.9 million of that to the regional offices, which will now provide those services, resulting in the $882,150 savings.

The construction of new regional offices ultimately will save the district some money, as well, Superintendent Carlos Garcia said. Once they are completed, the district will be able to cancel two leases, saving $120,000 a year.

And, Garcia pointed out, the money being used to build those offices "can only be used for building expenses."

"We didn't spend it on students because we couldn't," Garcia said. "But we are putting the $882,150 directly back into the general fund."

Garcia's reorganization of the school district breaks the district into five subregions while leaving the overall school system intact. The plan, he said, will raise student achievement and make the district, the sixth largest in the nation, more responsive to concerns from the public.