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Nov. 04, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

District officials: No new schools needed for at least three years

JAMES HAUG
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Because of flat population growth, the Clark County School District does not foresee building new schools for at least the next three to five years.

But it still projects capital needs of $4.9 billion over 10 years for school maintenance, technology, equipment, and improving older schools to maintain equity with newer schools, officials said Wednesday.

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    • The Clark County School Board is expected to decide by January whether to pursue a new bond program during the 2010 election cycle or defer it until 2012.

    Because the board decided against presenting voters in 2008 with a bond program, the last big bond program to be approved by voters was in 1998.

    Until a new authorization by voters, the district no longer can issue any new bonds that are financed through the school property tax, which is 0.5534 cents per $100 of assessed value.

    The School Board would be asking the public to extend the same tax rate by 10 years or more.

    But even if voters did not approve a new bond program, the same tax rate would remain in place through at least 2016 to generate enough income to pay down old bond debt, said Jeff Weiler, the district’s chief financial officer.

    School officials advocated a 2010 bond program as “a seamless transition” from the 1998 bond program, which generated $4.9 billion for the construction of 101 schools, but they said a 2012 bond program could put officials in a better planning position.

    Because of the current uncertainty, district enrollment by 2019 could be anywhere between 340,000 and 420,000, according to board documents.

    Enrollment currently is about 309,000, down from 311,000 a year ago.

    School Board member Carolyn Edwards believes growth is inevitable.

    “We won’t go 10 years without building a new school; I can guarantee that,” said Edwards, who then paused before adding, “99 percent.”

    If the economic conditions don’t improve, a new bond program’s capacity for generating revenue will be diminished because of slow growth and declining property values, Weiler said.

    He said income from the property tax is down by 3 percent this year and could be off as much as 10 percent next year.

    Without a new bond fund, officials anticipate that staffing for capital projects will be reduced to 100 employees for 2011 and 50 by 2012.

    At its peak in 2007, there were 400 staffing positions for capital projects.

     

    Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.

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    VegasSmitty wrote on November 04, 2009 10:38 PM: Toss out all the illegals and we'd be closing some schools!


    Keep bringing em in wrote on November 04, 2009 08:28 PM: Keep bringing in the ILLEGAL MEXICANS and the CCSD will surely need to build more schools.


    joe wrote on November 04, 2009 07:03 PM: LMAO, we're done building schools but the CCSD still needs another $5 billion bond program? DO THESE TAXES EVER DIE?


    to hintie wrote on November 04, 2009 06:21 PM:
    I hope you don't teach English.....it should read HAVE no idea, not HAS no idea!!!


    Hintie wrote on November 04, 2009 05:51 PM: Population may be flatlining, but what about relieving the overcrowded classrooms? I just got most of my classes under 40, but we still don't have enough room.

    (Plus, when half of your high school students has no idea how to behave in school, the room feels smaller than ever and a teacher's attention is even more poorly distributed.)


    Then give us the money wrote on November 04, 2009 05:32 PM: Then give us the TAXPAYERS the money back for that NEXT TEN YEARS!!!

    But we all know GOVERNMENT is going to keep collecting that money. That ain't going to give it back, once they have it.

    WATCH!!!


    Then give us the money wrote on November 04, 2009 05:32 PM: Then give us the TAXPAYERS the money back for that NEXT TEN YEARS!!!



    But we all know GOVERNMENT is going to keep collecting that money. That ain't going to give it back, once they have it.



    WATCH!!!


    Rodman wrote on November 04, 2009 04:47 PM: Tony, thanks for your reply to my blog. Obviously you were not a CCSD grad as you certainly understand math, percentages and have the abiliy to calculate same. Thanks for your reply, I think we both agree and the fact that another 4.9 billion would be a waste of taxpayers dollars. Time to clean out the CCSD elected board along with the greater majority of all the other elected politicals in the valley.


    roger wrote on November 04, 2009 04:44 PM: Bernard Spatelnik.... yes, imagine if people could just walk away from their homes? They would be talking about closing schools... but how are the real estate professionals going to convince anyone that houses for sale here have multiple offers (so you better bid fast and above the asking price) with articles like this being printed? Without that bogus level of demand the values will never go up? We could be witnessing the beginning of the end....


    G Man wrote on November 04, 2009 04:27 PM: Mountains Edge does NOT need a new high-school. Just complete Cactus through to Southern Highlands and save the money. As it is now, these kids must travel 15 minutes to get to S. Highlands by going out to Blue Diamond and back into Jones. This is really silly because the school is only 1000 feet from the doorstep of their house in many cases. Don't believe me? Check it for yourself. Chaco Canyon (Erie & Rainbow). S.Highlands HS (Erie & Rainbow). These are only separated by Railroad tracks that the kids are not allowed to cross. STUPID STUPID Clark County!


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