Looking in on: Education Budget ‘Grinch’ hovers over School District Educators struggle over how to absorb cuts, with some millions already spent

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007 | midnight

Typically at this time of year, the mood is jolly across the Clark County School District. Campuses are closed and administrators have a chance to catch their breath before the end-of-semester crush in January.

Not this year.

In fact, to many educators Gov. Jim Gibbons is bearing a striking resemblance to a notorious Dr. Seuss holiday character.

“I think the word is ‘Grinch,'” said one central office administrator, who asked not to be identified.

Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes did his best to put a positive spin on the education funding crisis at a brief news conference Thursday.

The state's 17 superintendents met with Gibbons for about an hour before the news conference. Though no final decisions have been made, Gibbons said he expects to make a 4.5 percent cut to K-12 education funding. That's about $96 million of the total allocated by the Legislature during the recent session.

If nothing else, the meeting provided an opportunity to correct some “Washington, D.C., math,” Rulffes said.

For example, last week Gibbons was asking the district to return money that has already been spent, such as $14 million for an expansion of the district's central kitchen.

There were plenty of questions that went unanswered, such as the fate of the empowerment schools pilot program and the expansion of full-day kindergarten classes for at-risk children. In the spirit of optimism, Rulffes asked reporters not to refer to these as potential “cuts,” but rather to characterize the programs as potentially “delayed.”

Gibbons told the superintendents it appeared by law he was unable to protect K-12 from the budget cuts, as he had promised. Instead, all departments had to take a hit.

If that's true, Rulffes asked at the news conference, “why did we not know that months ago?”

He added that any plans for K-12 cuts need to reflect the fact that Clark County's enrollment growth fell short of predictions for the 2007-08 academic year. That means about $82 million in per-pupil funding, allocated by the Legislature, won't funnel down to the district. He suggested that those dollars, already earmarked for education, be used to offset the proposed cuts.

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The Nevada Education Department is once again looking for office space in Las Vegas after negotiations for its first-choice property fell through.

Keith Rheault, Nevada's superintendent of public instruction, said the prospective landlord was even willing to throw in a month's free rent at the new building, at Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road, which would have covered moving costs. But the building's board of overseers changed its mind at the last minute, Rheault said.

The problems at the current building (at 1820 E. Sahara Ave.) have been ongoing, and were in evidence when the State Board of Education met there this month.

Attendees were greeted by a broken elevator and had to hike upstairs to the second-floor meeting room. That wouldn't have been much of an issue, but the locked stairwell door required people to bang on it and ask for help getting inside. Additionally, the lights in the meeting room flickered ominously several times during the meeting, although attendees wondered whether the storm outside was to blame.

Rheault had hoped to move about 30 employees from the East Sahara offices within a few months. The department needs about 10,000 square feet and has been paying $17,250 a month.

The state's Buildings and Grounds Division has found three new sites for Rheault to consider. Two are close to McCarran Airport and the third is on West Sahara Avenue, not far from the Clark County School District's administrative headquarters.

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McKenzie Wallace, a junior at Coronado High School, is the winner of the Public Education Foundation's annual holiday art contest.

Her work is featured on the foundation's holiday cards, mailed this year to more than 9,000 community members.

This year's theme was “Sharing the Season,” and more than 400 entries came from district students in grades K-12.

Mayo & Associates donated savings bonds to the top three finishers, with Wallace receiving $100. Las Vegas Grand Prix donated party packages for the winners.

Ashley Swarts of Spring Valley High School was the runner-up, earning a $75 savings bond. Third place and a $50 savings bond went to Kevin Gertz, also of Spring Valley.

The winning artwork can be found at the foundation's Web site, www.ccpef.org.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.