Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Middle schools look for ways to deal with budget cuts

By the time next school year begins, classrooms throughout Summerlin will be hit by another round of significant budget cuts and Rogich Middle School will be no exception.

Principal Suzie Harrison hosted a meeting with parents on Tuesday in the school theater to discuss the latest budget cut proposals from the Clark County School District and how they might affect Rogich Middle School.

Rogich has a total enrollment of 1,796 students. Teachers and administrators will have to learn how to do "more with less," Harrison said, while also taking into consideration district-wide reductions.

"It's very easy to say 'cut that program out of that high school' when it doesn't involve our kids," she said. "But every one of our students here will move on to a high school. We need to look at the big picture."

For the 2009-10 fiscal year, which begins July 1, the School District needs to cut approximately $120 million from its budget in light of an anticipated 14 percent reduction in state funding.

The School District has proposed four primary methods of budget reduction — a $32 million cutback from central office departments, a $22 million reduction from the School District's ending fund balance, a $9 million reduction from district-wide programs such as athletics and school transportation and $57 million in reductions among the School District's 347 schools, averaging a 3.5 percent cutback for each school.

The meeting included a video presentation from Walt Rulffes, School District superintendent. Over the past two years, approximately $133 million has been cut from the School District's budget, Rulffes said.

"Unlike many businesses that see their customer base shrinking, our clients just keep coming," he said. "This year, almost 3,000 new students came to the Clark County School District, and the unfortunate reality is that reductions anywhere in the district will be felt in the classroom."

One area that might see cutbacks is in athletics, which currently cost $6.2 million annually district-wide.

A "pay for play" type of system — requiring payments from parents of student-athletes — could offset the cost of coaches, travel, officiating fees and equipment. Such a system, which is on the district's list of possible budget solutions, might also result in fewer students participating in sports, which are an incentive for many to stay in school and maintain adequate grades.

"Here at Rogich, we have more than 60 percent of our kids involved in clubs and activities," Harrison said. "We need to be careful what we recommend for cuts because chances are, it won't be coming back. We can't look at these as temporary cuts."

The block scheduling system in many middle schools and high schools, which costs $11.1 million each year, is another factor to consider.

"It requires additional staffing," Harrison said. "It's much more expensive to run a high school or a middle school on a block schedule with eight classes than it is with a regular six or seven-period day. But it provides a wider variety of classes, especially electives."

The School District's 105 librarians at the middle school and high school levels are also feeling the pressure — more of those positions could shift to part-time status or simply be replaced by parent volunteers or teachers in an effort to cut costs.

"Our teachers are worried," Harrison said. "Not so much about their salaries, because those are protected. They are more concerned about a reduction in force and staffing levels."

Norma Somers, a Summerlin resident who has a seventh grade daughter attending Rogich, suggested outsourcing some of these services rather than eliminating them altogether.

"With the economy the way it is, there has to be companies out there who are interested in bidding for jobs with the District," Somers said. "It's a sad situation. It's a reflection of the times we are in."

Harrison collected surveys from the parents and will deliver them to the School District on Oct. 30. The next step for the School District is to evaluate all of the feedback and hold a pair of town hall meetings to further discuss its options.

The first town hall meeting is on Nov. 18 at Western High School and the second is on Nov. 19 at Chaparral High School. Both meetings are open to the public and start at 6 p.m.

Jeff O’Brien can be reached at 990-8957 or [email protected].

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