A drop in enrollment tied to families leaving the Clark County (Nev.) district during the Covid-19 pandemic has left the school system nearly 10,000 students and $61 million short of projections.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that 65 teachers across the nation's fifth-largest district will have to be reassigned because of the lower-than-projected student numbers.
AT Tyrone Thompson Elementary, the district’s zoning office had projected an enrollment of 606 students, but just 408 actually enrolled. That means five teachers will have to look for work elsewhere, other staffers will be reshuffled, a quarter of the student body will transition to new classes six weeks into the school year and every classroom will grow in size.
“It affects everyone,” says Principal Robert Hinchliffe. “Ultimately every classroom gets more kids.”
District figures show that 75 schools have enrolled fewer than 90% of the students they were expecting this year, compared with just 22 schools last year.
As of last week, there were 65 licensed professionals facing reassignment in the district, according to Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita, and 387 vacancies district-wide.
The teachers who have to be moved to other school will be shown the district vacancies for which they’re qualified, and vacant positions are filled based on seniority.
But issues have come up in the process, Vellardita says, such as schools rejecting qualified candidates whose salary may be on the higher end of the spectrum.
