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Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010 | 7:17 p.m.
Walt Rulffes
Brian Sandoval
Clark County school officials who met with Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval this week to discuss the budget described the tone as gloomy and were told to brace for cuts in excess of 10 percent.
Walt Rulffes, the outgoing Clark County schools superintendent, said Tuesday’s meeting was profoundly pessimistic.
Carolyn Edwards, vice president of the school board, said the budget outlook is “not going to be pretty; we all know that.”
Gov. Jim Gibbons had asked all state agencies to assume budget cuts of at least 10 percent. But public schools, including the Clark County district, and colleges, including UNLV, have resisted cuts of that magnitude.
On Tuesday, Dale Erquiaga, Sandoval’s senior adviser and a former financial analyst for the Clark County School District, told school officials that cuts will be “something in excess of that,” Rulffes said.
“I don’t know if we’ll know much more than that before Jan. 24,” when Sandoval announces his budget, Rulffes said.
Erquiaga, who confirmed Rulffes' account of the meeting, said the governor’s staff was assuming the state budget deficit would be at least $1.2 billion.
Estimates of the deficit have been as high as $3 billion, and a Sun analysis has pegged it at about $2.2 billion.
Education — including higher education — accounts for more than half of all state spending and may bear the brunt of budget cuts.
The Clark County School District’s annual budget exceeds $2 billion, and three out of four public-school students lives in Clark County.
Furlough days for state employees — which saved millions in salary costs and helped balance last year’s state budget — will be continued, Rulffes quoted Erquiaga as saying.
Rulffes also said Erquiaga wants to streamline the myriad state funding sources, which Erquiaga studied as a school district analyst.
“They want to put all the money in one bucket and the bucket will be smaller,” Rulffes summarized.
Also attending the meeting was Terri Janison, the outgoing president of the Clark County School Board, who has accepted a job as a senior aide to Sandoval.
“I was wearing two hats,” Janison said, referring to her two jobs.
Officials from smaller school districts — including those in Douglas, Churchill and Nye counties — were also at the meeting.
Sandoval wants to see the use of vouchers to allow parents greater choice in schools; the encouragement of innovative charter schools; and an end to what is known as social promotion, or advancing unprepared students to the next grade, Rulffes said.
Cut, Cut, Cut...its all Sandogibbons knows. Glad I can say I didn't vote for him.
It is time to leave this town. We are in the bottom tier for every meaningful quality life issue. Now you will make more cuts for a already pitiful school district. We can pay firefighters over $200,000 and cut education. WE R OUT OF HERE!
Try 15-20% cut. Wait and see.
remind me again how that theory of low taxes fixes everything goes?
anyway --- guess we won't have worry about broadening out the tax base with new industry now. that's a good thing. right?
right?
Soon to be a ghost state. Boom & bust.
Wow. I just KNEW this new Gov'ner was going to be a champ!!!
Why not just bag education entirely in Nevader?
No sense in just making a show of it.
We could put the young'ns ta work up in the mines and open up that nuklear waste dump and send sum of em' thataways...
"I was wearing two hats."
Conflict of interest?
Why do we always have to keep cutting education? Why don't we cut the pay of our public office officials. Why do officials at the SNWA need to be paid $200,000+? Why do some at Metro need to be paid $300,000+?
http://www2.8newsnow.com/salaries/search...
Governor elect, I want a voucher to send my young boy to the same school you and your top aides send your children. Studying charter schools, developing a plan for charter schools, building charter schools, staffing charter schools and financing charters schools, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "I know, you just threw that in to give us hope anyway."
But, if you continue to cut education, and by this much, the only thing our children can look forward to is social promotion. Oh yeah, governing a failing state leads to nowhere, even for a cover model like you.
It looks like Sandoval will be another Gibbons....cut, cut, cut until there's nothing left. We're already 49th in per pupil spending and with these cuts we'll be 50th. How exactly are we going to attract companies with such low funding?
Oh and if low taxes are the answers why does Nevada have the highest unemployment rate in the USA? Hmmm...could it have something to do with our low education?
Oh and give me a break with trying to start Charter Schools - none will start here because per pupil spending is so low they can't afford them without massive outside funding.
Get your facts straight Republicans.
Just when you thought "last in the nation" was as bad as it could get...
Yep, not only will entry level and construction workers flee in droves, with what will surely become the worst school district in the nation, so will the professional class. This community is headed no where.
As for vouchers, it costs in excess of 10k to place a kid in a private school, so unless they are worth like 8k, only the wealthy and upper middle class will be capable of using them. Sandy's spot on when he stated he want to end social promotion.
We could solve this 'shortage' of funds if we decided to legalize marajuana,prostitution and legalize the illegal aliens then tax the bejesus out of all three.
Oh yah lets lower the age of consent to 10 yrs. of age so there isn't as many minors in the system.
And no I ain't talking stupid I'm just a tax our way to success Nevadan!
Governor can't cut one cent.
It is the Democratic controlled Assembly and Senate that will do all the cutting.
Now I get it; Sandovall is going to be the Education KILLING Governor. No more of that benign neglect. Let's talk active extinction! Lower taxes=stupidity.
OK people, take a look at your tax statement, you will see that education is the #1 cost. Lets say the car you drive is large and eats more in fuel than you can afford. As a family what can you do? There in itself lies the answer. OUR EDUCIATION SYSTEM IS THE LARGE CAR.
For all of the Clark County voters that elected this guy, congrats. We will soon be in Jim Gibbon's second term.....but better dressed.
Just like here in California, over half of the budget goes to schools. The cry is still "not enough, we need more". Much of that money isn't being spent wisely. Unfortunately when times are tough, cuts need to be made. It's only worse now because the spending has gone on unchecked, long after the revenue dropped. Just like at my home this yaer, income is way down, we've had to make drastic cuts in order to survive. Things we once considered "necessary" are simply no longer in the budget. I suggest severe cuts in "administrative" staff and salaries. Also, all employees (who are very well paid) need to understand that they have to start paying into their own healthcare and retirement at a higher rate than they have (just like the rest of us). The party is over, time to get back to basics. There are many teachers out there doing a fine job, we can all name some excellent teachers, but unfortunately too much money is wasted long before it ever gets to the classroom.
As usual the brains behind Nevada have come up with a great plan to keep their work force uneducated. If you actually do some research the states that tax the mining and gaming industries are fairing better in this great economy and their school systems are better. Please remember noT raising taxes means higher fees for everything. Oh wouldn't that be called a TAX.
Attention wealthy retirees who have recently located to Nevada to hide your money. I suggest selecting a gated community, and if you already live in one, you might dig a moat and buy a vicious guard dog.
The result of failing to invest in our youth is going to get ugly. For everybody.
Not only that AgMallard, but how many private schools are there in the valley as opposed to students? Really? And how do they expect the parents to get them there and back? I know that I work day and am single, so I don't have a "stay at home" person to ferry them around, like most of the people that can afford the 10k plus a year it takes to send their children to a private school.
His "education" policy is a joke, and always has been.
I agree with gmag -
We certainly have a problem. Having had two children survive CCSD, I am not a fan, but I do recognize the imperative to educate our young.
I think we need to:
- Raise standards such that our high schools graduate people with the equivalent of community college certificates in something, or even Associate degrees for the high achievers.
- Institute end of year annual standardized tests in math, science & language for passing, with the bottom 5% required to attend summer school and retake the test.
- Lengthen the school year by 20 days and keep the schools open from 7:30-4:30 daily. More time in school will improve performance & retention.
- Freeze classroom teacher pay, cut everyone else's by 10%. No increase for the longer school year or summer school. Create incentives for classroom performance by tracking student improvement from year to year.
- Require HS students in the top 50%, as part of the program, to voluntarily assist in elementary & middle schools. Recruit senior volunteers for the same but also HS as well (even simple things like playground & lunchroom supervisory duty would help).
- Require greater employee contributions to retirement & medical programs, to include greater contributions for anyone more than 20% over standard weight (obesity is why medical care costs are skyrocketing).
- Eliminate the educational cert programs, they're not working. Recruit degree holders & experienced professionals to teach, with minimal bureacratic hurdles to jump. I know we could pull in a lot of otherwise qualified ex-military who'd probably love to teach if they didn't have to jump a bunch of bureacratic hurdles (the mission is to teach kids, not justify calling teaching a profession).
Cutting education is simply shortsighted.
Since Sandoval had refused to discuss in detail his budget ideas during the campaign, one can only conclude that he has ulterior motives. It is safe to assume that he falls in the radical Republican mold: cut taxes to "starve the beast" of government and use public funds to finance private enterprises (in this case, vouchers for private schools).
Long-term economic success requires -- demands -- a strong and viable system of public education. A well-funded schools and universities will attract the businesses Nevada sorely needs.
Begin the economic recovery now: adequately fund education.
OK...then how will we balance the budget if we don't go after education?
Education is the biggest mouth at the table.
Please don't say just cut state employees pay or just tax the casinos more or lets make mining pay for it because all of those combined won't balance the budget. Education has to be reeled in. Get used to the idea because the Democratic legislature is going to have to cut education.
I love how everybody thinks they know how to educate our children. Yes, parents do it all the time, and yes, that does give anybody who has ever had children some experience in that. Teaching 40 children in a class, however, is a completely different story. I can say, without any hesitation, that education classes and education experience are necessary components to being a good teacher. If teaching is so easy that anyone can do it, then why aren't you doing it? If our benefits are so good, and our pay is so good, I encourage you to quit your job and apply for one with the Clark County School District.
Just so you understand:
- You are not salaried. You are paid for 7 hours and 11 minutes each day. If it takes you 10 hours to complete your work, tough luck.
- You are paid only for 184 days per year. You are not paid for holidays or the summer. Even if you wanted to work 12 months, there are no opportunities to do so.
- You have to pay for a huge chunk of your own healthcare, and pay for retiree healthcare (even though people think it's free).
- Be prepared to have your pay be judged on whether or not your students care about their education. Most of them don't, so be prepared to be called a failure.
- There are no opportunities for advancement. If you want to earn a higher salary, you must either a) pay for your own college out of pocket, or b) Leave the classroom and go into administration.
- Prepare to learn lots of names. If you are a secondary teacher, expect to have almost 200 students that you are expected to know, understand their strengths and weaknesses, know their grade, remember their IEP requirements, and remember any health issues.
- Prepare to be a surrogate parent. Students come to you with all sorts of problems, many of which you could never possibly imagine.
- Prepare to have parents, community members, and the government blame you for all of life's problems. Just understand that hopefully some students will appreciate all of your hard work.
- You have to be a model citizen, even when your fellow citizens think you're worthless. If you make a mistake, watch out-- you'll likely lose your job and be crucified.
I know some of you are thinking that I'm just another teacher whining. I am NOT whining about all of that. That's reality. I LOVE my job, I LOVE my students, and will continue to work for their welfare whether you think I'm doing a good job or not. Put up or shut up, people. Most of you are not education experts. If you want to understand how education actually works, apply to work for the school district. Or, at the very least, go and volunteer at a school.
But whatever you do, don't just sit here and complain. I have to go and grade papers now (for free-- I've already put in my paid 7 hours and 11 minutes for today).
GO out and thank a sandievil supporter today and thank your legislature too for doing nothing. In my day they would be tared and feathered.
Part of the problem is that we have to appeal the 14th ammendment and demand documentation on all students. Let's face it the freeloading illegals ae also adding to the problem. We need to employee all the unemployed to become ICE agents and clean up this country!
All the school principals received I-pads as Christmas gifts from the district this year. Either the district didn't know about the budget cuts or decided to spend the money as fast as they could.
Scaling back is appropriate when funding is not there. There must be a level playing field. Don't ask much of your teachers then, they took a cut in pay. Don't ask much of administration, they took a cut in pay. Don't ask much of your school facilities, they are unfunded for maintenance. When you go cheap you get cheap. Not to say some programs, pay, insurance ect. can't be visited to cut backs just be carefull, th children our your future.
jzertzman, what planet do u teach on? Teachers not being paid 12 months. I know lots of teachers here who do not work the summer but get paid 12 months of pay. Sounds like you didn't get your Riatalin at an earlier age comrade.
Burrittobandit2,
Again, you speak from ignorance. We receive paychecks over the summer, but that is only because CCSD reduces our other paychecks to cover it. In effect, CCSD owes us the money. Rather than being paid only during the school year, when we are actually earning money, they spread out that pay to 24 paychecks a year.
Oh, and I am not on Ritalin. Or, as you put it, Riatalin.