• YouTube
  • Find us on the web:


Clark County School District, Nevada

Grade2.pngC
Taxes P
Partial.png
Budget Y
600px-Yes check.png
Meetings Y
600px-Yes check.png
Elected Officials Y
600px-Yes check.png
Administrative Officials Y
600px-Yes check.png
Contracts P
Partial.png
Audits P
Partial.png
Public records Y
600px-Yes check.png
Academics Y
600px-Yes check.png
Background checks N
600px-Red x.png

School district websites
Guide.png
Transparency grading process


Contents

The Clark County School District is a school district in Nevada.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Nevada school district websites

The Clark County School District serves Las Vegas and the surrounding area of Clark County, Nevada covering 7,910 square miles[1], and served over 309,000 students in the 2008-09 academic year.[2] The district operates 352 schools as of the 2009-2010 school year.[3]

[edit] The good

  • Board member biographies and contact information is available on the district's website.[4]
  • Budget and statistical information for the past five years is posted on the district's website.[5]
  • The district's negotiated agreements with employee unions are posted on the district's website.[6]
  • The board has a regulation about how an individual makes a request for public records and it is posted on the district's website.[7]
  • Academic performance information is published on the district's website.[8]

[edit] The bad

  • Although it did specify the 55.34 cent per $100 property tax rate for the bond issue passed in 1998, the district does not clearly post on its website the various taxes that generate revenue for the district and what those tax rates are.
  • Information on the district's lobbyists is not posted on the district's website.
  • No details on the background checks conducted by the district are found on the website.
  • The district does not post information on vendor contracts.

[edit] Board of education

The school board is responsible adopting an annual budget for the school district based on the educational plan for the district and the recommendations of the administrators. In addition, the board supervises the execution of the budget, reviews school district accounts and provides for an annual audit of the accounts as required by law. The school board is also responsible for adopting academic standards for pupils and establishing expectations for the district. The school board monitors student academic achievement and exercises general oversight of the schools in the district.[9] Board members in the district represent specific geographic areas and serve overlapping four-year terms.[10]

Member Position District Year Elected
Terri Janison President E 2006
Carolyn Edwards Vice-President F 2006
Sheila Moulton Clerk G 1999
Chris Garvey Member B 2008
Larry P. Mason Member D 1993
Deanna L. Wright Member A 2008
Dr. Linda E. Young Member C 2008

[edit] Contracts

The negotiated agreement between the district and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees is posted on the district's website.[11]

The negotiated agreement between the Clark County School District and the Education Support Employees Association is also posted on the district's website.[12]

[edit] School budget

The 2009-10 budget for the district included total resources of $4.863 billion, with expenditures totaling $3.731 billion.[13] The ending balance of $1.132 billion reflects the district's belief that it will have large balances in Capital Projects and Debt Services Funds, due in large part to the fact that the district's construction improvement plan is in its final stages.[14]

The per pupil expenditure for the per-pupil in 2009-10 is $7,617.[15] The per pupil expenditure in 2007-08 was $7,546, compared with the state average per pupil expenditure that year of $7,742.[16]

The budget expenditures break down

Category Dollar Amount
General Operating Fund 55.8%
Debt Service 17.4%
Capital 15.2%
Special Revenues 4.6%
federal Projects 4.1%
Food Service 2.2%
Internal Service 0.7%

General operating fund percentage of revenue

Categoryhttp://sunshinereview.org/index.php Percentage
State Aid 33.9%
Local School Support Taxes 29.6%
Property Taxes 26.2%
Opening Fund Balance 5.9%
Governmental Service Franchise Taxes 2.5%
Other Revenues 1.9%

For Fiscal Year 2008-09, the local sources of revenue totaled $2,224,662,000, state sources amounted to $886,230,000, federal sources amounted to $229,440,000.[17]

The teacher salary schedule for 2009-10 ranges from $35,083 to $70,060.[18]

Total salaries paid by the district in Fiscal Year 2008-09 amounted to $1,647,173,030.[19]

A Capital Improvement program was approved by voters in 1998 and authorized the issuance through June 2008 of general obligation bonds, to be repaid from a fixed tax rate of 55.34 cents per $100 of next taxable property. [20] The projected revenue from the tax for FY 2009-10 was $440 million which was intended to go to the Debt Services Fund.[20]

[edit] Academic performance

The Nevada Department of Education found that the district did not make adequate yearly progress in the 2008-09 academic year and designated it as being under watch.[21]

Of the 352 schools in the district, 186 of them made adequate progress in the 2008-09 academic year.[22][23] 42% of schools in Clark County are in need of improvement.[24] Of the district's high schools, 14 were classified as high achieving or exemplary, 22 were classified as adequate and 34 were classified as in need of improvement or on watch.[25]

[edit] Unions

The Clark County Education Association represents more than 13,000 educators in the district.[26] It is the exclusive bargaining agent for all licensed personnel in Clark County.[27] The negotiated agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Education Association is posted on its website.[28]

The Clark County Education Association states on its website that it aims to protect the rights promote improved working conditions and professional development improve your economic welfare provide valuable economic programs inform you of issues that affect educators, and increase community awareness of the special needs of educators and students

The Clark County Education Association Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization intended to foster charitable giving and to provide educational innovation and community involvement in the public schools of Clark County.[29]

The Professional Association of Clark County Educators is a local chapter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), a national non-partisan, non-union professional association which neither supports nor opposes controversial political issues unrelated to public education.[30]

The Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees is the bargaining representative for all Clark County School District administrators [31]

The Education Support Employees Association of Clark County(ESEA) represents non-licensed district employees.[32] In the 2008-09 school year, the ESEA filed over 150 grievances with the district.[33]

[edit] School choice

Magnet schools and Career & Technical Academies make up the district's "Select Schools."[34] There are 5 select elementary schools, 6 select middle schools and 13 select high schools.[35] They offer a variety of areas of focus, including math and science, the creative arts and language immersion.[36] All select schools require and application and a student may apply to no more than three select schools.[37] The elementary select schools do not have a specific criteria for admission, whereas the high school select schools have more specific criteria for admission, depending on the school.[38] Over 14,000 students were enrolled in a select school in the 2008-09 academic year.[39]

The district also has a distance education program, including an online virtual high school.[40]

[edit] News

In September 2009, the Nevada Policy Research Institute reported that the Clark County Board of School Trustees had implemented a practice so trustees meet with other elected officials to discuss public business in private.

[edit] Lobbying

Main article: Nevada taxpayer-funded lobbying

The school district has four registered lobbyists. [41]

The school board belongs to the Nevada Association of School Boards, a taxpayer-funded lobbying association.[42]

[edit] External links

[edit] References


[Category:School districts with 50,000 students]]

blog comments powered by Disqus