School year could be cut short

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

The school year could end a few days early this June for students in Clark and Washoe counties if Nevada's fiscal crisis continues on its current course, state education officials said Tuesday.

Superintendents for Nevada's two largest school districts said they have not ruled out shaving days off the remainder of the current academic year in order to save badly needed dollars.

Clark County School Superintendent Carlos Garcia said he is waiting for a call from Gov. Kenny Guinn about whether the district will need to trim millions between now and the end of the fiscal year in June. With only two months remaining, the district's options for savings are limited, Garcia said.

"When we say everything's being considered and anything is possible that's exactly what we mean," Garcia said.

Guinn has already warned Garcia the district may have to cut $220 million over the next two years if the governor's tax plan does not pass.

The prospect of reducing school time is frustrating given the tough new state and federal mandates for student achievement, Garcia said.

"How can we teach the kids if we don't have them in school," Garcia said. "We want to continue making gains and strides, not slide backwards."

Closing school just one day early could save as much as $4 million, said Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations for the district. But it could be easier to switch to a four-day school week for a period of time rather than close campuses entirely for several days, Rulffes said.

The savings from closing down would be mitigated by the fact that employees would still have to be paid per their contracts, Rulffes said. With a four-day week, the district would still save on transportation costs, custodial and food services and utilities, Rulffes said.

"Up to now we've been focusing on the four-day week or a shorter calendar as solutions for next year," Rulffes said. "It would be unfortunate if we have to put the plan into effect early, but we may not have a choice if we don't have the money."

James Hager, superintendent of Washoe County schools, said ending the school year just two days early could save his district $2 million. However, it may not be feasible -- or even legal -- to shut the schoolhouse doors, Hager said.

"We have statutory requirements for instruction and we have bargaining agreements with our teachers and other employees," Hager said. "This isn't something that would be easy to carry off, even if we could."

State Superintendent Jack McLaughlin said he is investigating whether his office has the authority to issue waivers to Clark and Washoe counties if they request permission to end the school year early. State law requires districts hold 180 days of instruction.

"I know I've (issued waivers) for snow days or if a school building isn't ready on time, but we've never had a situation where districts needed to close because of money," McLaughlin said. "We'll have to do a lot of research before something like this could become a reality."

The state's so-called rainy day fund may be enough to get school districts through the end of the fiscal year, McLaughlin said. But if the war in Iraq continues for a prolonged period that money could run out, forcing districts to cut funds immediately, he said.

"We're telling people to prepare for a worst-case scenario," McLaughlin said. "We're all in a state of limbo right now waiting to see what our lawmakers decide to do."

When asked the likelihood that early school closures could become necessary, a spokesman for Guinn said "the ball is in the Legislature's court."

"K-12 education is the one area the governor has successfully protected thus far, and we don't know if it will continue to be that lucky," said Greg Bortolin, spokesman for the governor.

Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association representing the majority of the district's teachers, said the Legislature needs to "wake up."

"The money can only stretch so far," Holloway said.

As for the possibility of the district switching to a four-day week or closing schools early, any proposal would have to go through the union's negotiations team, Holloway said.

"Our hours and days are specified in our contract, but we would want to cooperate and would take the proposal to our executive board," Holloway said. "It may be something that needs to go to an arbitrator for a final decision."