Superintendent: Budget cuts mean ‘significant sacrifices’ for district

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | 3:09 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget means a 19 percent reduction in state funds to the Clark County School District and could mean layoffs of anywhere from 800 to 5,600 teachers and other employees, education officials said today.

School Superintendent Dwight Jones told the Senate on Wednesday that the proposed budget would require “significant sacrifices” by employees and would mean bigger classes, fewer textbooks and possible furloughs for teachers and administrators.

But Republican senators called for more information. Sen. Elizabeth Halseth, R-Las Vegas, wanted to know if $800,000 was spent on iPads, for example, and she wanted a breakdown of spending line by line.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, sought an estimate of what local and federal funds are being funneled into the district besides the state appropriation. It might be as much as $2,000 per student, she said.

The current statewide average per student is $5,192 in state funds and the Sandoval program calls for it to be lowered to $4,877 next school year, and $4,878 in 2013. The figures presented Wednesday to lawmakers already had been outlined to the budget committees of the Assembly and Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, who scheduled the unusual session, said he can’t support the “deep and devastating cuts” made by the governor to public schools, but he added there will have to be some reductions.

He called for senators to put aside their ideological differences and work for a compromise, but it appears from questions posed by Republicans that they could back the Sandoval plan with no new taxes.

Jones said he has ordered a detailed analysis on how the school district is spending its money. The study will look at where the funds are being spent and the results of that spending.

Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, suggested the $20 million set aside by the governor for raises for teachers based on performance might be better used to hire more teachers. But Jones said he supported the governor’s plan.

“Many teachers feel they are being attacked,” said Leslie. “It’s pretty grim to be a teacher.”

Sandoval is calling for a 5 percent cut in pay for teachers and state workers.

Jones said the budget could mean a layoff of 800-1,000 teachers, whose average pay and benefits are $70,000 in Clark County. And if the teachers’ union does not make concessions, the potential layoffs could include 5,600 workers.

Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, said he was “shocked” that unions would not make concessions to save 5,600 jobs.

Jones said his goal is to graduate students ready to go to college or into the job market without requiring remediation for them, but he outlined some of the possible cuts that are planned under the governor’s budget. There would be a 20 percent reduction in administration, a 50 percent decrease in textbooks and supplies, and a 25 percent drop in specialized classes, he said.

He said negotiations are under way to require teachers and other workers to take furloughs. For those on a 12-month year, they would be required to take one day a month, the same that has been imposed on state workers.

Class sizes, which average 33 students in junior high school and high school, would be increased by two students per class.

Jeff Weiler, chief financial officer of the district, told the Senate the reserve fund to pay off school construction costs totaled $475 million which is kept to pay off bonds if property tax revenue declines.

He said this $475 million would tumble to zero in six years. But under the Sandoval plan, $302 million would be stripped from this reserve fund and put into operating costs for the school district. Horsford argued that taking that money out of the reserve account would lead to a property tax increase.

Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, questioned whether the collective bargaining law restricts the district from spending money where it might be needed. But Jones said his cooperation with the teachers’ union has “been very good.”