Another enlightening month of Leadership Las Vegas has opened my eyes to a few things that I believe everyone in the Southern Nevada community should be made aware of. Everyone seems to have an opinion on education. However, few people have the opportunity to view it from the inside out. That is exactly what Leadership Las Vegas Class of 2009 spent the month of January doing.

On the evening news we hear of sub-standard test data and other negative outcomes while school administrators and teachers struggle to meet the requirements of the infamous No Child Left Behind legislation. Very rarely do we hear of all the excellent programs provided by the Clark County School District (CCSD). Now, the problems are compounded by current financial crisis. Now, more than ever, the future of Nevada depend on public support.

Nevada State Senator Steven Horsford made a comment during a Leadership panel that suggested funding for schools was “equitably divided” among Nevada school districts. However, Clark County School District receives less money per student than any other district in the State. As a parent of 3 school-aged kids, I believe that the community needs to demand some answers from their local representatives in the State legislature. I am not seeing the equity.

These figures are not for the faint of heart. Clark County School District is the 5th largest school district in the entire nation. There are 311,240 students enrolled in 347 Clark County public schools. 7 new schools and 4 replacement schools opened in August of 2008. Currently, there are 18, 168 licensed teachers employed by CCSD – 1,640 hired this year. The comparatively slim administration consists of 1,337 administrators and 12,013 support staff. There are a total of 38,611 CCSD employees.

It is important to also consider what the student population looks like. There are 110 languages spoken by students in Clark County schools. Some of these languages are only verbal, creating some additional challenges for educators. In a an average classroom of 33 students, 7 of them are learning the English language (ELL), 13 are living at or below poverty, 4 of them have learning differences requiring an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 2 of them have been identified as gifted.

The newer ‘prototype’ high schools are built to accommodate 2,700 students but have had enrollment as high as 3,956 in recent years. Even in these conditions, teacher salaries start at $35,083 per year. It is important to note that these educators are, in many cases, top-notch teachers. 63% of CCSD teachers hold a graduate degree. Certainly, it is the desire to teach rather than the need for a progressive salary that motivates these individuals to show up at work each day. Clark County has a 96.4% attendance rate for these teachers.

Clark County Schools receives a meager $7,355 per student each year to fund the education of students through high school. The national, per student average is $8,380. Nevada spends almost 3 times this amount on convicted felons in the prison system ($22,000). This, to me, is a crime in itself. Are you calling your legislator yet?

Clark County School District is the home of 21 magnet programs for students with vocational interests, such as my daughter who is a junior at SECTA High School, one of the CCSD magnet schools. These magnet programs have helped keep some of the students in school – an important consideration knowing that the graduation rate for the class of 2006 was 63.8%. In 2007, only 3,639 graduating students had plans to go to college.

So, in addition to buying books and pencils, Clark County School District has an incredible amount to accomplish with the smallest per student paycheck in the state. Speaking of pencils, CCSD purchased 750,000 of them last year. They provided students a ride to and from school with 5,944 bus routes per day using a fleet of 1,267 buses.

With budget cuts affecting the bottom line, more and more each day, the CCSD must constantly ponder what services they can continue to provide and specifically which segments of the student population will lose out. There are federal mandates that stipulate certain things, like special education. This leaves ‘extra’ services especially vulnerable. These include things like the homework hot line which received 9,740 calls last year alone. Or, should safety be compromised? There are 143 school police and 177 nurses that keep our children and public property safe.

Bus drivers commute 20.9 miles each year while custodians clean 34 million square feet of school. The district provides free or reduced lunch to 127,557 students every day.  This accounts for a substantial amount of the 27,593,400 cartons of milk that were served to CCSD students in the 2007-2008 school year. Yes, that figure is 27 million.

Contrary to popular belief, only 0.1% of the general fund comes from the federal government. 35.5% comes from Sales Tax, 31.7% comes from State Support Tax, and 28.3% comes from Property Tax. While it is my opinion that the State tax base needs serious help, it is only partially salient. Our local School District needs a way to generate income as long as the State of Nevada is not doing its part.

Our Governor, Jim Gibbons, has suggested cutting education and reducing teacher salaries even more. I have accepted this as confirmation that he has completely lost his mind. Or, maybe he just does not understand the critical role of education in society. I hope that the legislators have more hope for the State of Nevada than our Governor. Call them, write them, let them know that this is not an acceptable option for the future of our children! And, while you are at it, stop a CCSD employee and let them know they are all doing a great job!