NCSD gets extra $1.6 million in state funding

Nye County schools will see $1.6 million in extra revenue next year thanks to state legislators.

Legislators voted earlier this month to approve an increase in Nye County School District’s Distributive School Account (DSA) funding by $368.

Last year’s DSA figure was $6,652 per enrolled student.

The additional funds were earmarked Tuesday to hire five new teachers for Pahrump schools as well as one additional instructor in Gabbs.

School board trustees voted 4-2 to accept an amended budget Tuesday that included the additional funds. Not all trustees were happy with the final budget and the vote almost deadlocked.

Trustee Harold Tokerud said he could not approve the final budget because he and the other trustees were provided little information about how the additional funding would be spent.

“I was against the budget as presented because we were left with very few options. We hadn’t talked about prioritizing once the state added in an additional $1.6 million in extra revenue. Usually, we have more thorough workshops prior to a vote when monies are added,” he said.

Trustee Robert Mobley agreed.

He said too little attention is being paid to maintenance of several new district assets, including geo-thermal operations at two schools.

“I think that after the budget was amended with additional funds, allocation of positions was not addressed sufficiently and we have new geo-thermal operations in two schools and there is no funding to maintain them, or money to hire someone knowledgeable in the area to be a good maintenance manager,” he said.

School board President Tracie Ward had similar concerns but chose not to oppose the amended budget.

“This was unusual,” she said, “We usually have back-up material, and we didn’t get it this year. I agree with them, (Tokerud and Mobley).”

Trustees will revisit the budget again after the official student census day, usually within a month into the new school year, when schools may see increases in students and require additional funds.

Last year for instance, both Tonopah and Round Mountain had significant growth in first grade classes and monies were re-allocated.

The new teaching positions in Pahrump included two new positions at both J.G. Johnson and Floyd Elementary and one new position at Hafen Elementary. Gabbs Elementary will get the final new instructor.

NCSD Chief Operating Officer Ray Ritchie noted that all new positions will be immediately advertised.

It is required by the state that each classroom have a no-less-than 1:25 teacher to student ratio. These allocations will supposedly bring all classrooms into compliance.

“What delights me is that we’re not talking about layoffs. We had to ask employees in the past for eighteen months of concessions, and now we can give back, plus a STEP (merit raise) increase and that’s exciting,” he said.

Also with the amended budget increase, full-day kindergarten is assured. Two specialty teachers can be added, and in the Gabbs school the head teacher has been moved into the principal position, with a $5,000 increase and prior concessions will be restored to those who made them during the more challenging part of the recession.

Also on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting was Superintendent Dale Norton’s first-year performance review. According to an evaluation made available to the public, Norton received a satisfactory review and overall a three out of possible five points indicating “above average” for his first year on the job.

Norton spoke at the meeting about attending high school graduations throughout the region and said, “It is such a joy to see all these graduates who will now be citizens who are educated and who will become a positive part of society.”

In reference to a change in the Amargosa school principal, Ward said, “Amargosa has the highest poverty rate in the state; it is hard to learn when you don’t speak the language (English) well and the migrant rate is very high in that area. The kids show low test scores. So in order to turn that around completely, to a high-performing school, we obtained a grant that gives us materials and monies we need. The stipulation in the grant was removal of the principal.” (At the time, the principal was Karen Hills.) According to Ward, Hills has been moved to the adult education program in Pahrump.

This year the Affordable Care Act will begin affecting most Americans in some way and the Nye County School District is no different. According to Ritchie, the bill for insurance will be one dollar per child, in the first year, and two dollars per child the second year. He said, “We don’t know how it will go after that, but payments will end in 2019.”

One of the concerns board members say they are tracking closely is reduction in student numbers over the last five years. Last year the number of students was one hundred and fifteen less than the year before. According to Ritchie, the district is down by over a thousand students in the last five years.