CCSD expects 4.6 percent growth

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

Clark County School District expects 280,600 students to start classes Monday -- an enrollment increase of 4.6 percent over last year.

The nation's average school district has less than 12,000 students and 13 campuses -- the numbers that Clark County has added for the 2004-05 academic year, Superintendent Carlos Garcia said at a kick-off press conference Wednesday.

"We're getting bigger, but we're getting better, too," Garcia said.

Student enrollment has grown as much as 6 percent in some of the past years but that percentage difference was driven in part by smaller starting numbers, Garcia said.

When all the other school districts' new totals are in for this year, Clark County is expected to replace Broward County, Fla., as the nation's fifth-largest school district.

There have been 124 new bus routes added to the Las Vegas Valley and at least 90,000 students are expected to ride. However just 45,000 pickup requests have been processed thus far and Garcia urged families living at least two miles from their child's school to call the district's transportation office at 799-8111.

"More than half the kids haven't signed up yet and school starts next week," Garcia said.

School Board members are expected to fan out across the district next week visiting both established campuses and new schools. Additionally the first of a series of public meetings will be conducted Tuesday.

"This year is about communication," said School Board President Susan Brager-Wellman. "We're going to be out there on a regular basis talking to parents and students and taking the pulse of the community."

In addition to the 13 new campuses the district will unveil its virtual high school program this year. While the district has offered supplemental distance education courses for several years, this is is the first time students may enroll solely in the online program without also attending classes at an actual physical site. So far 154 students have registered and district officials expect that number to double as the year progresses.

Another new program this year will be tuition-based full-day kindergarten classes with parents paying $300 a month for their children to attend. Twelve schools will take part in the pilot study.

"We've said all along how critical we believe full-day kindergarten is. Now we're going to put our money where our mouth is," Garcia said.