600 gather to discuss school cuts

Thursday, March 6, 2003 | 11:36 a.m.

In an evening that was equal parts strategy session and pep rally, hundreds of Clark County parents, students and staff urged school district officials Wednesday to protect everything from sports to reading programs as they wrangle with a possible $75 million reduction in state education funding.

State Superintendent Jack McLaughlin warned Clark County educators last week that unless Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget plan moves forward, the district could lose up to $160 million over two years. In response to McLaughlin's news, the district quickly assembled plans for a series of community input meetings, where members of the public would be given the chance to say which of 55 programs and services they wanted preserved, reduced or even eliminated.

More than 600 people filled the theater at Cimarron-Memorial High School in the northwest region of the Clark County School District to discuss the prospects of the potential cuts, with the standing-room only crowd spilling into the hallways.

Superintendent Carlos Garcia thanked the community for its strong show of support, saying even more visible support will be needed in the weeks ahead as lawmakers consider various budget proposals.

The threatened cuts should not be considered inevitable, Garcia said.

"If we sit quietly and allow this to happen, then shame on us," Garcia said to loud applause. "Our children deserve better than this."

Garcia made a point to note that along with programs such as high school athletics and elementary art classes, school administration and staff positions are also on the list of proposed reductions.

As audience members busily scribbled responses to a questionnaire, district employees walked the aisles and collected completed forms. The questionnaires will be tallied and the results announced following the last of the four public input meetings next week, district officials said.

Len Paul, superintendent of the district's northwest region, said he was impressed by both the volume and the intensity of the public's response to the potential crisis.

"We're used to having our parents turn out for these kinds of meetings, but I have to say this is phenomenal," Paul said as he surveyed the packed high school theater. "I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say."

Abigail Milleret, who alternated between her mathematics homework and listening to the meeting's speakers, said she is most concerned that the music program will be cut from Sig Rogich Middle School, where she attends eighth grade.

"Music inspires me," said Abigail, who plays violin and cello. "It takes my mind off my problems and lets me be creative."

Chris Hagen, whose two daughters attend Odyssey Charter School, said he too was concerned that music programs would be sacrificed. Additionally Hagen, a physicist with Bechtel Corp., said everyone in the Las Vegas Valley should be concerned about the future of public education regardless of whether they have children in the schools.

"Education is what keeps our city alive or not," Hagen said. "We talk all the time about needing to bring more businesses to town, but if you can't offer good schools, most companies won't bother because their employees won't want to live here."

Not everyone was impressed with the district's message Wednesday. Longtime teacher Rebecca Kooyman called the meeting a thinly veiled attempt to scare parents into lobbying legislators for tax increases.

"Instead of the district putting out a realistic list of areas that could be cut they're making their fight with the state as visible as possible," said Kooyman, who teaches English at Cimarron-Memorial. "If you want to make parents nervous, don't talk about reducing extras like curriculum consultants, you talk about the Gifted and Talented program and upping class sizes."

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said Wednesday she has already been contacted by worried constituents and expects the volume of calls to pick up significantly as the district's public meetings progress.

"I can't imagine any parent or legislator will feel the cuts being suggested are acceptable," Buckley said. "We need to look for solutions that result in a more efficient government without depriving schools of the resources they need to help our children succeed."