Monday, March 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- After three years of rising high school dropout rates in Clark County, there's been a turnaround.
It may not continue but Clark County School Superintendent Brian Cram said, "I'm glad it's positive. It may not be a trend but I hope so."
Nevada's school system has been described as "mediocre," rating only a C average, with one of the nation's highest high school dropout rates. But this latest report carries some hope that things may be changing.
Figures supplied by the state Department of Education show the dropout percentage of students fell from 11.6 percent in 1994-95 to 10.8 percent in 1995-96 in Southern Nevada. Cram said the district has "put in place a number of programs to improve dropouts." But he said he was "very cautious about this being a trend."
The state agency is now compiling the rates from each district and will give a full report next month. Dropouts in Washoe County are down but they are up in Carson City.
Bill Hanlon, a member of the state Board of Education, said he has been told the statewide rate of 10 percent last year probably will fall this year.
In commenting on Clark County's turnaround, Hanlon of Las Vegas said, "I don't see it as a downward trend. There will be minor ups and down in the future." The rate, he said, tends to reach a plateau and then level off, fluctuating a little bit each year.
He believes the plateau was reached last year.
Cram said more students are entering school in Clark County with "the characteristic of dropouts. We're fighting against the tide." These students, Cram said, come from homes in which the parents do not stress education.
Asked if Gov. Bob Miller's proposed budget will help with the dropout problem, Cram said it was "flat" in giving the school district more operating money. But he said it provides "one-shot" money for computers, which should help in the classroom.
Miller has also provided $3 million in 1999 for remediation money to help students who are not making it. The state Board of Education asked for $25 million over the two-year period.
Cram said there is some talk in the Legislature about increasing those funds.
Regarding the one-year improvement, Hanlon said, "What's occurring is an expanding alternative education. The number of kids taking the GED tripled. There's credit by examination and we have correspondence courses."
All of those count in computing the students who stay in school, Hanlon said.
Clark County's rate in 1992 was 9.6 percent, rose to 10.9 percent in 1993-94 and then to 11.6 percent in 1994-95. The district has one of the highest dropout rates among Nevada counties.
The new figures show lower percentages of students are leaving school in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades. The ninth-grade dropout rate continued at 4.2 percent for 1995-96.
Hanlon said the dropout percentage has climbed since the state increased the number of credits needed to get out of high school to 22 1/2. He has unsuccessfully pushed to lower the credit hours required and at the same time toughen the courses.
The Board of Education last week voted 6-5 to retain 22 1/2 credits for graduation after more than three years of study and debate.
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