School board to weigh budget options today

By Frances Vanderploeg

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 | 12:05 a.m.

After compiling the results of parent, principal and staff surveys, Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes plans to bring the first round of recommended cuts to the School Board today.

He didn't say what the cuts may include, but said he thought initial reports from the public feedback opportunities were not conclusive.

"I was surprised to find there was no clear-cut consistency across the board," Rulffes said.

Block scheduling, for example, often appeared as something to keep and cut. It costs $11 million annually and is offered only at select schools.

At parent meetings held Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 at Western and Chaparral high schools, respectively, 235 votes came in to keep block scheduling, and 271 votes came in to cut it.

Extracurricular activities such as sports and fine arts, as well as keeping class sizes low in first to third grade, often appeared as popular programs to keep, but received only 15 percent of the vote, Joyce Haldeman, associate superintendent of community and government relations, said.

"There's not anything … even 50 percent of the people said, 'I support this cut,'" she said.

In a survey sent out to parents, 711 of whom responded, programs to cut included extra administrative staffing, empowerment schools, early retirement incentives, regional professional services, prep periods for high school department chairs and block schedules at high schools.

Haldeman said some of the changes, such as a four-day work week, would require a law change, but School District officials have been told that some of those suggestions would be considered by the Legislature if deemed necessary.

Officials suggested they didn't intend to cut sports or fine arts, though they may have to impose a fee. It is also possible that there may be fewer games or performances, Rulffes said.

School Board member Ruth Johnson suggested making sports and fine arts fees equitable.

Currently, students in band, for example, have to pay up to a few hundred dollars to participate to equipment and uniforms. Sports fees, however, are generally paid by the school.

"It would be fair to make that equitable across the board," Johnson said.