School Board scrambling for ways to pay for building renovations

By Paul Takahashi

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 | 12:59 p.m.

Clark County School District officials urged the School Board today to consider options to enhance its financial footing.

In the wake of a failed tax initiative to renovate dilapidated schools, the School District is looking for ways to pay for school maintenance and upgrades that have been postponed since the recession began.

The School Board is considering another capital program as a 1998 bond program winds down. What that program will look like — whether it’s a bond or another tax initiative — is up for discussion over the next couple of months.

But the board must act soon.

There is $44 million left in the district’s 1998 bond program, but $669 million is needed for renovations. The district is expecting another record high enrollment this fall — an influx of 1,500 additional students.

Complicating matters further, the district’s bond ratings have fallen over the past several years, jeopardizing its ability to secure lower interest rates for capital projects and bond programs.

“We know the needs are many and the dollars are few,” School Board member Lorraine Alderman said. “I think we have a lot of things to consider.”

In the short term, the board will consider ways to increase its bond rating to ensure a lower cost of borrowing.

Throughout these discussions, the board will look at facility inequalities between urban and rural schools, inner-city and suburban campuses.

Ultimately, the School District will need more state funding to solve its financial woes, School Board President Carolyn Edwards said, arguing that the Nevada Plan — which distributes state money to Nevada’s 17 school districts — needs to be updated.

“The Nevada Plan needs to be addressed,” Edwards said. “Our funding needs to be increased or else we’ll never get out of this hole.”