Washoe County School District has found a source for capital funding, but is now looking to the capital city for more funding. The money generated from a voter approved sales tax increase will help build and repair schools, but legally cannot be used for the operating budget to balance out a $30 million deficit.
WCSD is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion to Damonte Ranch High School Thursday. It is the first capital project funded by the WC-1 tax increase.
"This is a big community event and it's a very big thank you to our community for understanding the need of our students," says Superintendent Traci Davis. The ceremony is from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 16th but you must register by the end of Tuesday. Officials say the public will have the chance to pick up a shovel and move some dirt themselves. "While there will be people here and there will be a traditional groundbreaking," says Davis, "You'll get to see kids. And you'll get to hear kids and you'll actually get to see why this place is amazing."
The expansion will add 22 classrooms to the north side of the school, expanding the building to the east (towards Rio Wrangler Parkway) and west (toward the football field and "D" on the hill.) This project is just one in a massive list of building and repair projects funding by WC-1, "This is just the beginning of schools that we will be building. We have a commitment over the next decade to build schools to relieve overcrowding, but also repair existing schools that are old and need severe repairs."
With nearly 800 million dollars in approved funding for capital projects, it only solves one of the district's budget problems. The district is anticipating a $30 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year and is hoping for relief following the 2017 legislative session.
"I think the discussion about education funding in Nevada is going in the right direction we know in the 2015 legislative session we saw additional investments in education and we're going to continue that ask in 2017 particularly to pay for our classroom teachers," says Lindsay Anderson, Director of Government Affairs for the Washoe County School District. She gave the Washoe County School Board an update on its legislative agenda at the trustee's meeting Tuesday. There are seven bills the district is highlighting but two would greatly impact the district's operating budget:
AB43- Property tax abatement cap reform
SB49- Removes a cap on funding for students with disabilities
Both of these bills would mean more money for the school district. Anderson says that they've seen an increase in student achievement over the last 8 years and that that "comes at a cost." "We're hoping the legislature will continue to fund the efforts of the school district so we're not in a position to increase class sizes or leave positions unfilled.'
The Board of Trustees also addressed the overcrowding at Brown Elementary School. They voted Tuesday to "not move the school to a multi-track calendar and kept it on a balanced calendar during the next school year.
