Schools receive another $1.9 million to help budget

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

The Clark County School District will get an additional $1.9 million in per-pupil funding from the state this year, thanks to an extra jump in student enrollment.

The district had 268,357 in schools as of Sept. 19 -- the official count day -- an increase of 463 students above enrollment projections and increase of 5.1 percent over the 2002-03 academic year.

The School Board approved a revised operating budget of $1.5 billion Wednesday, an increase of about $72 million, which included the increase in per-pupil funding and projected savings from a hiring freeze on administrative positions. The budget also includes adding $23.1 million to the district's ending fund balance, bringing it to 1.6 percent of the district's total revenue.

That's still short of the 2 percent demanded by the district's own regulations, but it's closer than the amount has been in several years, said Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations.

Rulffes warned the board that it may not be possible to bring the balance back up to 2 percent in the near future or even maintain the current level for long.

He said there are a number of "future liabilities" for which the full price tags are not yet known and may not be fully funded by the state. Those include planned reductions in class sizes, additional magnet programs and teacher recruiting and training.

"You're going to have to pick and choose," Rulffes said. "I have the financial goals to meet and the superintendent has the instructional goals. Sometimes that 2 percent is going to have to give way to the higher priority."

One significant plus for the district is that four-year contracts have been negotiated with the three major bargaining groups representing teachers, support employees and administrators. That gives the district and edge in predicting future personnel costs, which account for the majority of the operating budget, Rulffes said.

The district's struggle to increase its minimum reserves has been a source of frustration, said School Board President Sheila Moulton. The claims of some state lawmakers that education funding was dramatically increased during the last legislative session are ringing hollow, Moulton said.

"When you come right down to the numbers, we are not making gains," Moulton said.