Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

District: Public wants after-school activities, sports saved from cuts

Block scheduling, modified sports schedules and staff reductions possible

Public town hall results

  • Block scheduling: 235-cut, 271-keep
  • Extracurricular activities: 33-cut, 558-keep (top vote-getter)
  • Athletics: 38-cut, 385-keep
  • Eliminating one region office: 183-cut (top-vote getter), 3-keep
  • Librarians (105 positions): 35-cut, 106-keep
  • Literacy specialists (200 positions): 131-cut, 72-keep
  • Special Ed facilitators (164 positions): 45-cut, 133-keep
  • Maintenance and grounds-keeping (1 percent reduction in force): 31-cut, 4-keep

Extra-curricular activities and sports were at the top of the list of programs the public says should be protected from the next round of school budget cuts, according to a district presentation Wednesday.

The votes were nearly divided on block scheduling, with 271 in favor of keeping the program, which costs $11 million annually and is offered at 18 high schools. The modified schedule allows students to take more elective classes. But 235 people said the program should be cut, and it’s likely at the top of the School District’s list, as well.

“It does represent what many see as an inequity in our high schools,” Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes told the School Board at a special work session today to discuss the survey results.

The Clark County School District conducted town hall meetings on Nov. 18 and 19, and attendees had the opportunity to submit ballot slips listing the programs, services and staff positions they wanted saved and the ones they were willing to lose.

While no single area had majority support, the strongest consensus was for after-school programs such as band, athletics and club activities.

The public also said that librarians were necessary at the middle and elementary schools, and that special education facilitators deserved priority.

Rulffes said he’s reviewing the results of the town meeting, as well as the recommendations that came from a survey of about 700 parents. Additionally, each principal was required to meet with parents and staff to discuss ways to trim 3.5 percent from individual campus budgets. He plans to bring a list of recommendations for consideration when the School Board meets Dec. 11.

While it’s unlikely that sports programs would be eliminated entirely, it is possible that schools will have modified schedules and play fewer games, Rulffes said.

Alternatively, there will likely be entire programs or staff positions that are eliminated outright, Rulffes said.

Joyce Haldeman, the district’s associate superintendent of community and government relations, noted that when the town hall meeting responses were put up against the parent survey findings and the individual school surveys, there was no consensus. Each list has a different “top 5” for both the “cut” and the “keep,” although some items do make repeat appearances.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy