Clark County School District braces for Nevada education cuts
At 2:40 p.m. the grounds were quiet at Cadwallader Middle School. At 2:41, teachers and students marched out of the building to the sidewalk holding signs and chanting "Save our schools!"
The April 27 protest was organized by teachers, whose contracted day ends at 2:41, and students, who stayed late, in response to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget.
The Clark County School District plans to cut $407 million next year to meet Sandoval’s proposal, which will result in increased class sizes, fewer class offerings and the elimination of more than 1,800 positions, mostly teachers .
The plan is tentative and subject to any revisions of Sandoval’s budget.
Seven positions are scheduled to be cut at Cadwallader, 7775 Elkhorn Road, and class sizes are expected to increase to between 40 and 45 students and up to 50 per class in some subjects, teachers said.
Teachers said space has become a concern, and they’ve had to move file cabinets out of their rooms to accommodate more desks.
One student held a sign that read, "Gov. Sandoval’s classroom: standing room only."
Dozens of teachers walked side by side with more than 100 students.
"If anybody’s going to stand up, it’s going to have to be us on the front line along with the kids, " said English teacher Randy Schucker. "We just felt it was in the best interest of the kids.
"In the (coming) years, they’re going to have a decrease in the quality of education ," he said.
Teachers also said 75 percent of the eighth-grade class passed the writing proficiency exam, but that number probably will take a hit next year because of a proposed 50 percent reduction in textbook and supplies funding .
Eighth-grader and student body president Jamie Meier helped organize the students’ participation.
"As soon as we started telling people this was going on, it spread like wildfire," Jamie said, "almost like a rumor.
"As eighth-graders, we heard that our high school classes that we really depend on are being cut. Everyone is affected by it."
Class sizes at every grade level will increase next by three students as more than 1,000 teachers are expected to be laid off, or "surplused," as the district calls it.
At the elementary school level, teacher surpluses are determined based on school wide seniority.
Principal Gary Bugash of Eisenberg Elementary School, 7770 W. Delhi Ave., expects to lose four teachers to bring the average class size of first and second grade to 21, third grade to 24 and fourth and fifth grades to 33.
Grades six through 12 will increase average class sizes to 35 students. At the middle and high school levels, teachers are surplused by seniority within departments instead of the whole school.
Principal Darren Sweikert of Tarkanian Middle School, 5800 W. Pyle Ave., said because enrollment at the school is expected to increase next year, he will lose four teachers instead of the seven he would lose if enrollment were the same.
He expects to have more than 50 students in some core classes and up to 80 in some electives.
"It’ll have a definite impact," Sweikert said. "We’re going in the wrong direction. We need to be lowering class sizes. We’re getting to the point where it’s not just about quality instruction, it’s space.
"When they built the schools, they built the walls with certain dimensions," he said. "We’re getting to the point where we can’t fit any more desks in the room. Ultimately, it’s the children that are suffering."
At Foothill High School, 800 College Drive in Henderson, Advanced Placement classes may be eliminated due to low enrollment.
Principal Jeanne Donadio said struggling students will have a harder time, too.
Donadio said she caps enrollment in lower-level core classes at 30 students because they need the most help.
"I’m not going to be able to do that anymore," Donadio said. "Students are going to suffer."
The Clark County School District plans to adopt its final budget May 18 at the Board of Trustees meeting.
Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.
