Las Vegas NowCCSD Debates Budget Shortfall
"We don't have the ability to absorb those kinds of cuts," said Clark County Superintendent Dr. Walt Rulffes.
"He is burying education," said school board member Carolyn Edwards.
Board members say the State of Nevada had a smaller enrollment than they anticipated and because of that, there is $65 million that wasn't used.
District officials want a stronger effort to stabilize funding and support for education.Schools are trying to figure out how to deal with Governor Gibbons' order to cut 4.5-percent of their budgets to cover a projected state revenue shortfall of $440 million.
The Clark County School District is being asked to cut $96 million, which is money educators say the district simply doesn't have.
Add your comments about the budget cuts
School board members discussed the issue Monday morning. Members looked at proposals of where reductions or eliminations could be made.
Discussions included getting rid of expanding full-day Kindergarten, that would save $13 million, and not creating empowerment schools which would cut almost $9 million.
None of the ideas sit well with school board members who say the district stands to lose programs and funding.
"I find this whole situation unacceptable. I think the rainy day fund needs to be used. The governor needs to rethink this. He is burying education," said school board member Carolyn Edwards.
"If the 4.5-percent is implemented, we compute that over the next four years it would reduce funding to education over $300 million -- and we don't have the ability to absorb those kinds of cuts," said Clark County Superintendent Dr. Walt Rulffes.
Board members say the State of Nevada had a smaller enrollment than they anticipated and because of that, there is $65 million that wasn't used.
They would like to see that $65 million go towards the cuts. The rest, they say, should come from the rainy fund.
The CFO of the school district is meeting with people in the governor's office up in Carson City. They are talking about the $96 million in cuts the governor is asking for in K-12.
"I don't know how we can cut full day kindergarten or cut empowerment schools. The governor ran and based his budget on the empowerment and the full day kindergarten. It was a huge battle that took the whole legislative session to get what we got," said Edwards.
District officials want a stronger effort to stabilize funding and support for education. They would like the tax structure reviewed and they would like the state's rainy day fund used to help balance the budget shortfall.
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
