Clark County (Nev.) school board makes up to $13.9 million in additional cuts

The Clark County (Nev.) School Board has approved up to $13.9 million in cuts, eliminating nearly 315 jobs as it grapples with a $50 million to $60 million deficit that will require even more rounds of cuts.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that 272.5 positions and various services will be cut to address part of the fiscal 2018 deficit, saving roughly $7 million to $13.9 million. The cuts are in addition to $43 million in reductions that the board approved last month.

Central administration will lose an additional 44 jobs. Those jobs — both filled and vacant — range from clerical positions to building engineers and were ranked as cuts that would have the least impact on students.

However, district officials are hopeful that those employees won’t lose jobs in the district, as they may be reassigned through the surplus process.

The cuts came amid cries from the public to cut from higher offices first.

A public survey that drew 26,395 responses found that the community most preferred savings to come from closing all schools and buildings over the holidays — a $14 million reduction achieved by cutting seven working days for administrators and some support staff.

The other two top recommendations were changing some 12-month administrator positions to 11 months, saving $3 million, and reducing the work year for all employees by one day for $8 million in savings per day.

The board will likely approve more reductions on Sept. 28. The district has said it will not lay off teachers. 

Schools will amend their individual budgets next week to absorb their part of the fiscal impact, which could vary from school to school.

The deficit stems from a number of factors — including lower-than-expected state revenues for special education and full-day kindergarten.