School employees to lose cell phones

By Emily Richmond

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 11:25 a.m.

In a move that's as much about saving face as money, Clark County School District officials plan to hang up hundreds of cellular phones provided to administrators.

About 500 school employees are provided with the phones, running up a yearly bill of about $270,000, said Richard Ennes, business manager for the district. Officials hope to cut that cost at least in half by ending the perk for all administrators who are not assigned to a school site, Ennes said.

While cell phones are hardly the district's biggest expense, every dollar counts in a time of crisis, Ennes said. The move to end the free cell phones comes after the district decided to eliminate vehicles for nearly all administrators, at a savings of $1 million.

It's important to show the public that the district is taking its fiscal responsibilities seriously, said Larry Mason, member of the Clark County School Board.

"It's about perception," Mason said Thursday. "People have this image of our staff sitting in their company cars chatting away. We want people to know that's not accurate, and that we've taken real steps to save money at all levels."

The School Board voted Wednesday to approve a draft budget that contains $111 million in cuts, eliminating programs such as middle school sports and music festivals and shifting to a four-day week. The reduced budget will be used only if Gov. Kenny Guinn's tax proposal isn't approved by the Legislature.

But the termination of the district-provided cell phones and vehicles will move ahead, regardless of the outcome of the legislative session, said Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations for the district.

Instead of the phone service, some administrators will be given a small monthly stipend that they may apply to their own personal cell phone service, Ennes said.

"That way, they're responsible for the bill and anything that goes over the plan amount," Ennes said. "We also won't have to worry about vetting the bill and trying to figure out which calls were legitimate business and which were personal in nature."

School Board member Shirley Barber, who along with members Mason and Ruth Johnson voted against the proposed budget cuts, called the cell phone decision a step in the right direction.

"We've been told over and over that (the district) has cut all the fat, but I'm not convinced," Barber said. "We still need to be taking a close, close look at how our schools are being run and where the money is going. Getting rid of the phones is a start."