Governor signs bill on teacher job notifications

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | 5 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Within hours of final legislative passage, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a bill allowing school districts a two-week delay before they have to notify their teachers and employees if they will have a job next school year.

Current law requires districts to tell their workers by May 1 if they will have a contract for next year. Assembly Bill 542 puts that deadline off until May 15.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said in Clark County alone there are 800 staff members involved. And he said rural counties could lose valuable employees if the present deadline is kept in place.

“This gives us time as we work through this difficult budget,” he said.

There has not been a decision by the legislative budget committees on how much will be allocated to public schools.

The governor also signed Assembly Bill 533 for a $323.8 million supplemental appropriation for school districts for unanticipated shortfalls in their budgets for this fiscal year.

The Senate gave final legislative approval to these bills shortly after noon Tuesday and Gibbons signed them hours later.