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School trustees save hundreds of positions at expense of district's ending-fund balance

Jackie Valley
Jackie Valley
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The Clark County School Board of Trustees eliminated a school associate superintendent position in a split vote Thursday night as the governing body shed another $25.5 million from the district’s budget.

The move capped nearly five hours of discussion that resulted in trustees sparing bus drivers, custodians, special-education staff and other lower-level employees from losing their jobs. But it came with a trade-off: Trustees lowered the district’s ending-fund balance, which is essentially a reserve pot of money, to 0.78 percent instead of restoring it to the desired 1.75 percent level.

“I don’t want anyone else cut,” Trustee Linda Young said as she made the motion. “It’s too disruptive to families.”

Clark County School District employees gather in the lobby at Edward A. Greer Education Center during a school trustee meeting discussing budget cuts on Thursday, Nov. 30,2017. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

The school district’s chief financial officer, Jason Goudie, warned trustees ahead of the vote that a lower ending-fund balance could trigger a poor bond rating in the future and add a certain amount of financial risk.

“It does show the district’s ability to operate in a healthy financial manner,” he said.

The cash-strapped school district has been digging itself out of an estimated $60 million deficit since this summer. Earlier rounds of budget cuts led to a savings of roughly $40 million.

The district received an additional $11 million from the state for full-day kindergarten funding, bringing the shortfall to $9 million. But school officials said the following revenue adjustments added another $13.5 million to the deficit:

  • Per-pupil funding for special education was lower than expected. ($1.5 million)
  • The school district’s enrollment decreased by 1,400 students, bringing in less per-pupil revenue from the state. ($8 million)
  • The school district received additional revenue reductions for each Clark County student who left the district to attend a charter school. ($4 million)

That’s why school officials announced in mid-November that at least $22.5 million more cuts would be necessary. The deficit has led to finger-pointing over who’s responsible — with district officials blaming inadequate state funding and state and union officials calling it the result of fiscal mismanagement.

Ultimately, the trustees decided to plunge the ending-fund balance lower to avoid eliminating hundreds of positions. But that was after they voted 4-3 to axe a school associate superintendent — a move the supporters initially rationalized as a way to save support staff, who have taken the brunt of the budget cuts. Trustees Kevin Child, Chris Garvey and Linda Young cast the dissenting votes.

“I do feel badly about even cutting an associate superintendent, but I feel worse for the person who possibly does not have the basic living expenses to get by on,” Trustee Linda Cavazos said.

The decision to eliminate the $80,000 administrative-level position, however, didn’t sit well with everyone, especially because it occurred before the ending-fund balance vote.

Khana King, a former student in the district, said one of the school associate superintendents played an instrumental role in her education. She couldn’t fathom the thought of him possibly losing his job.

“These people are human, and these were promotions,” she said, describing how the school associate superintendents wound up in their roles. “There are so many things we could do to save these positions.”

And that’s exactly what might happen.

Cavazos asked for an agenda item at the next meeting to discuss whether the board should reverse its decision about the school associate superintendent. It’s financially feasible because the trustees cut roughly $3 million more than needed Thursday.

The ending-fund balance adjustment saved $22.5 million, but the board also authorized the following reductions:

  • The Extended School Year Autism (KIDS) Program will be 20 days instead of 30 days. ($1.5 million)
  • One voluntary furlough day for administrators and one school associate superintendent will be eliminated. ($755,000)
  • Nonessential travel funds will be frozen and teleconferencing will be increased to reduce mileage expenses. ($683,641)

After the votes, a group sporting blue shirts hugged, cheered and posed for photos outside the boardroom. They are members of Family and Community Engagement Services (FACES), a program on the chopping block that avoided elimination.

State Sen. Mo Denis testified on behalf of the program’s value, calling parent involvement a vital tool in the quest to improve education.

“It’s probably the one factor that will guarantee success for our kids,” he said.

The evening also brought good news for special education instructional facilitators — otherwise known as SEIFs — who play a key role in ensuring the district meets the needs of students with disabilities. The proposed list of cuts had included 167 of those positions.

Jordan Wenger, a school psychologist, praised the trustees’ decision to salvage those positions. “They do a lot for my students and for me,” she said.

Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky will bring a final amended budget for fiscal year 2018 to the Dec. 14 board meeting. The district must submit a balanced budget to the state by Jan. 1.

Although this latest round of cuts has effectively balanced the district’s budget, it doesn’t mean the funding conversation will be over any time soon. Trustees called on community members to stay engaged and lobby elected officials to fix the state’s education-funding mechanism.

“Let’s make sure this is a long-term battle to do the right thing for education, to do the right thing for students, to do the right thing for all of you,” Young said.

This story has been updated to reflect that the furlough day for administrators is voluntary.

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