boulder city:

Schools could cut teachers, athletic programs

Rural schools face same budget cuts as everyone else, officials say

Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Home News

Garrett Middle School student Bailey Barker, 13, asks how proposed budget cuts may affect local technical schools she plans to attend in the future during a town hall meeting Thursday at the Boulder City High School auditorium.

By Cassie Tomlin (contact)

Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 | 12:33 p.m.

BC school town hall

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Boulder City schools may operate differently than Las Vegas Valley ones, but later this year they'll face the same staffing cuts as the rest of the school district, officials said.

At a town hall meeting last night at Boulder City High School, 45 people heard about the Clark County School District's budget woes and how they'll affect Boulder City.

Because of the state budget crisis, the School District last month submitted plans for $120 million in cuts for the current year that ends in June. Last year, it slashed $133 million, Jim McIntosh, the district's deputy chief financial officer, said.

The state Board of Education will let the district know at the end of this month if it approves the money-saving plan, which includes asking every school to cut 3.5 percent from its budget. That means reducing staff to 97 percent of current levels and shortening athletic seasons, McIntosh said.

The School District is also planning to cut 13 percent from its central administrative staff, he said.

Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, and City Councilman Travis Chandler, who sit on the local Community Education Advisory Board, hosted the public forum with officials who represent Boulder City and other rural towns like Mesquite and Laughlin.

Along with Hardy, Chandler and McIntosh, officials including Steve Sisolak, who this month replaced Bruce Woodbury on the Clark County Commission; Chris Wallace, who represents Boulder City on the state Board of Education; Pat Skorkowsky, Clark County School District's assistant superintendent for the region; Mayor Roger Tobler and City Manager Vicki Mayes fielded questions from parents, teachers and schoolchildren.

Hardy began by telling the crowd that the state is $1.5 billion in debt, after last year exhausting reserve funds, borrowing money and cutting state employees.

"We're in a hole, and we need to stop digging," he said.

Skorkowsky said he was sympathetic that rural schools such as Boulder City find it harder to cut teachers, coaches and other staff than bigger schools.

"When you take away just one position, that equals negating five classes," he said.

But when Lee Esplin, principal at Martha P. King Elementary, asked whether rural schools could hope for a break, McIntosh told him probably not.

"I've heard concerns on all sides, from rural schools to special education schools, but it's 97 percent across the board," McIntosh said. "I hate to tell you that."

The decision to cut staffing was made, McIntosh said, after parents, students and teachers in surveys and forums late last year stressed the need to keep athletic and extracurricular programs.

Esplin asked the School District to let Boulder City schools, which have smaller numbers of students and teachers, and greater distances to travel for athletic teams, decide where to make the 3.5 percent cut.

"Give us the power to make the critical decisions," he said. "It's not the money that improves the education, it's the decisions."

Roxanne Dey, who serves on the Community Education Advisory Board, also implored the School District to let each school choose what can be sacrificed in the budget.

"Because where Rancho (High School in Las Vegas) might make cuts might be different than Boulder City High School," she said. "Even among the four principals in Boulder City, they didn't agree."

Rose Ann Miele, the city's public information officer, suggested the state and the School District together search for new funding sources in the state budget to avoid some of the cuts to teachers or programs.

Sisolak told her he agreed and said the state should use the situation as an opportunity to be smarter with finances.

"Nevada has clearly been too reliant on construction and gaming taxes, which are now falling apart," he said. "Our children, quite frankly, deserve better."

By a show of hands, most in the crowd indicated they would support a half-cent increase in sales tax to support education.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or cassie.tomlin@hbcpub.com.

Discussion: 4 comments so far…

By CCSDTeacher

1/9/09 at 5:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

The cuts will be made--- and to CCSD and the Nevada -- KIDS don't count. Why? Because education is not really important in the eyes of state government. Many folks look at education and teachers as mere baby-sitters. As a CCSD teacher I can truly say that parents in my school only care if the school is open and their children are in a classroom from 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM. That's it. These parents could care less if students are in a class of 35, 45, 55.... or bigger. As long as they serve lunch, are in business Monday-Friday, and a bus picks them up at home and drops them off in the afternoon -- PARENTS don't care. well, folks if it gets worse -- and it will -- I hope these same parents have enough money to send them to a private or parochial school because teachers are going to leave this state, and they will certainly inform their friends in their home states to stay away from Nevada. You might as well put up a sign at the state line that "Nevada is Closed - Until Further Notice."
By starrynite7

1/9/09 at 6:28 p.m.

Suggest removal

I am also a teacher in Las Vegas and I foresee many, many teachers leaving Las Vegas for greener pastures. Next year our classes will get bigger, and our pay lower. Why on earth should we stay here and deal with the heat and poverty? Teachers have to go through many hoops to become teachers and then to have everything taken away and more stress added is just not worth the stress. It makes me sad because I love teaching and I will really miss my school, but as a single mother I can not put my child's quality of life in the toilet just to stay here in Nevada. This state is going to become a ghost town and the children will be the ones that suffer.
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 7:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

"many teachers leaving Las Vegas for greener pastures"

I think you totally clueless about what is happening in the economy.

If you have senority then it would be wise to stay put.

States, like California, are laying off teachers.

The odds are that things will get worst next year.

That will mean even more states will be laying off teachers.

For the next few years, any job will be hard to find unless you work in speciality that is high demand.
By getalife

1/9/09 at 11:33 p.m.

Suggest removal

I always find the budget cutting process to be an amazing piece of theatre.

They never talk about cutting the state budget of some useless program that sucks up money and has no real value, its always education. The reason is if they told 1,000 people that they were going to cut the budget for the re-location of the desert tortoise, 999 would say whatever, tough.

But if they told 1,000 people they are cutting the education budget then only one person would say o.k. tough and the other 999 would storm the bastille.

It's time to take a hard look at reality.

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