Teachers trying to educate public about budget crisis

By Paul Takahashi

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | 8:42 p.m.

Every Wednesday for the past month, a small group of mainly teachers from middle and high schools has gathered in front of The District in Green Valley to protest proposed state budget cuts.

Waving homemade signs, the group, which also includes students and parents, assembled again on Wednesday, this time with a heightened sense of urgency.

A week ago, the Clark County School Board unanimously approved its fiscal 2012 budget, bridging a $407.4 million shortfall by approving the layoff of at least 1,834 employees.

The Clark County School District, the largest public employer in the state with 37,341 employees, stands to lose as many as 5,311 positions next year if anticipated union concessions and extra state funds fall through. That would represent about 7 percent of the district’s workforce.

“It’s not want we wanted to do and where we want to go,” said School Board member Deanna Wright, who attended the rally. “This is one way we are hoping to advocate for adequate funding for education.”

Wright, who has two children attending public schools, was among 50 teachers, students and parents from Bob Miller Middle School, Mannion Middle School, Silverado High School and others who rallied at the entrance of the District, 2240 Village Walk Drive.

The “Power Wednesday” events are a way for teachers to shed light on the budget cuts facing the district, organizer Scott Hensley said.

“We’re not asking for more money; we’re asking for the same amount,” the Miller school librarian said, adding the Nevada has one of the lowest per-pupil spending rates in the country.

“This is a message to legislators to stop the train before it goes off the cliff,” said Andrew Rowell, a seventh-grade reading teacher at Miller. “If these resources go away, how is Nevada going to keep its workforce? We’re shooting ourselves in the foot right now.”

For Ivy Rasmussen, a counselor at Mannion, her main concern about the budget cuts is increasing class sizes. This year, Mannion is averaging 35 students per class, she said. Next year, the school is looking at classes of at least 38 to 40 students, she said.

“It’s almost as if we’re asking how many bodies can you fit into a classroom?” she said. “We need to do better.”

Some teachers said they were worried about the layoffs.

Jody Myers, an educational computer strategist at Miller, said 25 percent of the strategists are being cut from the district next year. As a result, the remaining strategists — they help teachers incorporate technology into the classroom — will be stretched out among all the schools.

For Myers, who helped open Miller Middle School when it opened 11 years ago, that means she will serve as the educational computer strategist for Liberty High School next year. Miller will be served by another strategist who will split time between there and another school.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “I opened Miller and intended to retire there. I didn’t want to leave.”

Myers lamented other budget cuts, including a district proposal to slash 50 percent from the school supplies budget.

“It’s going to devastate the amount of technology we can purchase,” she said. “We can’t keep technology forever; it becomes outdated.”

“We’re already on a seven-year cycle,” she said. “Many of us don’t keep computers that long. Businesses change them out every two or three years.”

Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association, said that instead of complaining, teachers have “stepped up to the plate and got involved. This is what activism is about. This is a great grassroots effort.”