Nevada lawmakers hear bill to reduce school populations

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | 12:53 p.m.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A legislative committee was urged Monday to endorse a bill limiting the number of pupils in elementary, middle and high schools to be built starting this summer in the Reno and Las Vegas areas.

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, said a school that holds 10,000 pupils may provide "a bigger bang for the buck" because it only requires one gym, one cafeteria and one football field - but it shortchanges students.

"It will cost a little more to construct smaller schools but what are we in the business to do, educate kids or build factories?" Schneider asked. "That's a decision we have to make."

SB166 would limit the number of students in new schools in Washoe County, encompassing Reno, and Clark County, encompassing Las Vegas, to 300 in elementary schools, 600 in middle or junior high schools and 900 in high schools. The counties are the state's urban centers.

Schneider said most teen pregnancies and teen crime happen between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. - just after students are released from classes. The way to combat that is to get students involved in after-school activities, which Schneider said is difficult at larger schools.

Some members of the Senate Human Resources and Education Committee were worried about the added cost that would result to redesign schools already planned to be built after July 1 that would hold more than the number of students the bill would allow. Others worried the bill would demand districts to build three times as many schools at any given time.

But Schneider told the committee that taxpayers will understand that moving toward a better education system is worth losing construction savings. He said that if the Legislature doesn't want to pass the bill then it can "build them bigger and save more money and throw more students away."

Ken Lange, executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, said there are several benefits to smaller schools, including allowing educators to explore different teaching methods. He said large schools lessen the quality of instruction.

"We stack 'em deep and we teach 'em cheap," Lange said of the state's current K-12 public school system, adding. "We believe there's an expense if we continue doing what we're doing."

Between now and 2008, there are seven additional high schools in the construction pipeline in Nevada.