The White Pine County School District is one step closer to building its first new K-8 public school in Ely in more than two decades after a state board approved its request for a $98 million grant at its April 7 meeting.

Officials say the new approach is returning promising results as the rates of students passing entry-level English and math courses are higher now.

More than 10 percent of the district's elementary schools do not feature swings in their playgrounds.

During its upcoming Tuesday meeting, the school board will consider three options to replace Ernst, who has served for less than two years in the role and whose early departure continues a trend of frequent executive turnover for the district.

Trustee pay could be one of the reasons that there's fewer candidates running for a school board office this year compared to previous election cycles, even as districts are facing challenges such as budget constraints and superintendent turnover.

Nevada doesn't have a law in the books that requires a certain number of recess minutes, specific recess structure or prohibits schools from withholding recess for certain students.

The court said in a Thursday decision the information within the file is exempt from disclosure under Nevada Public Records Act. 

His priorities include ensuring students have strong academic foundations and access to college and career readiness classes.

Private schools enroll fewer than 5 percent of K-12 students in Nevada, but their small class sizes and specialized offerings — which can include religious education — contribute to their appeal.

The Washoe County School District has struggled with superintendent turnover. In 2024, Joe Ernst became the district's fifth superintendent within 10 years.

During his time as superintendent, Ernst worked to improve issues such as chronic absenteeism while confronting challenges such a projected budget deficit in part due to declining enrollment.

Though Gov. Joe Lombardo has taken small steps to provide more schooling options for students, he said he considered it a disappointment he hasn't been able to do more.

The state's free pre-K program is rapidly expanding, but Nevada still lags behind other states on metrics around school funding, child care and pre-K.

The Clark County School District superintendent said research the new school start times could lead to an improvement in student test scores.

A local public education advocacy group is concerned the program touted by President Donald Trump may not shape up to be as beneficial for the state as proponents think. 

A complaint argues that the initiative's description does not comply with state statute "because it is deceptive, misleading, and fails to explain the ramifications" of what its proposing.

Many Nevada students have walked out of class in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations.

Three years after Nevada school leaders celebrated a historical, 26 percent K-12 education funding increase, a number of their districts now face dire financial outlooks.

Nevada's Board of Regents voted Friday to approve tuition increases which higher education leaders said were needed to fill an almost $50 million annual budget gap.

While some parents and staff praise the district for the change, other worry about disruptions students' after school activities and the burden it could place on working parents.