The Churchill County School Board of Trustees set the School Year Calendar last week, choosing Option B that was presented after district staff weighed in on two options with comments regarding spring break, vacation times, and preferences for the early out for Professional Learning Communities. The first day of school for the 2021-22 school year will be August 23, with a week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, Spring Break April 11 through the 15, and Graduation will be held June 3, 2022.
The calendar committee made up of members of each association, a parent representative, and Superintendent Summer Stephens met several times to discuss four options along with the four-day week pilot idea that was reviewed and researched last year. Early release day for PLC times was selected for Friday rather than the option of Wednesday.
Trustees also approved a tentative budget for the 2021-22 school year that will be transmitted to the State Department of Education, in spite of not knowing the per-pupil amount for the Distributive School Account and a reported deficit in the Governor’s recommended budget. According to Christi Fielding, Comptroller for the district, the State Department of Education staff is unable to provide any revenue projections at this time and cannot provide information on the ability to fund the Hold Harmless agreement.
Hold Harmless is a provision established during the 2019 Legislature that protects school districts from an unexpected loss in revenue as the State transitions from the Nevada Plan to the Pupil Centered Funding Plan.
Fielding explained the tentative budget will likely be revised as the current Legislative session comes to a close and more accurate revenue projections are provided. The tentative budget contains two funds, including debt service, requiring funding from State education fund revenues, totaling $11,109,838, as well as eleven governmental fund types with estimated expenditures of $44,710,566, along with a proprietary fund for workers compensation for $457,000. Total net resources are listed at $52,491,789. Importantly, the contingency fund has been drastically reduced to $95,000, however Fielding hopes to adjust that in the coming months.
Fielding did say there are no plans to cut licensed staff, and in fact, there is an intent to add staff to support the discussion from the March 23 board meeting regarding prioritizing smaller class sizes.
The CRRSA funding (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations) funding has not been included in the tentative budget as the application has not been completed. Requiring a needs assessment process, the application will take at least a month to complete. Once the application has been approved, the budget for the funds will be determined, keeping in mind stipulations that prevent the funding from being used to fill any deficits. Fielding said the Budget Advisory Committee will continue to meet and forward recommendations for potential reductions and cuts for future revisions to the tentative budget.
Trustee Kathryn Whitaker expressed dismay at the situation, saying, “It is unbelievable that the Board with fiscal responsibility does not have what we need to make sure we can fund education in our district. I want to make that public, my concerns what a bind this puts us and our staff in, I wish we knew better what to expect.”
In other business, Trustee Matt Hyde was nominated to the NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) Board of Directors from Region II. The seat will be filled by a nominee from either Carson, Churchill, or Douglas school districts.
A written report on recruiting efforts was presented by Kevin Lords, Director of Administrative Services and Operations, detailing the several websites on which open teaching positions have been posted. Additionally, the district will use social media to encourage more people to earn their Commercial Driver License and school bus endorsements to meet transportation needs. A recruiting website has been set up and can be viewed at https://sites.google.com/churchillcsd.com/welcome-to-churchillcsd/home where potential employees can learn more about the district and the community.
There were 14 applications, both internal and external for the high school principal positions, and five candidates were interviewed on Saturday, April 17.
The district reopening plan continues with input this week from the county after both the Board of Health meeting and the commission meeting on Wednesday, at which time Commissioners will approve a reopening plan proposal for the community. Plans for graduation on June 4 will continue to evolve as the reopening plan is implemented May 1 at the local level and according to Governor Sisolak’s directives, June 1 at the state level.
Principal Scott Winters said the plan is for a traditional graduation with more details available after the county meets this week. Trustee Fred Buckmaster asked about plans for prom, and Winters said a student approached him with a preliminary idea and will come back with more information. “I want to listen, Coach Daum wants to listen, we want to make sure there is safety, and we are within the boundaries. We will all work together,” he said.
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