Summer is coming and students are in the homestretch with only seven weeks of school left, but the Humboldt County School District Board of Trustees are still discussing important issues as the next school year is already looming.
At the board's regular meeting on April 11, the Trustees, all present, evaluated the staffing plan for the 2023-2024 school year, as prepared by HCSD Superintendent Dr. Dave Jensen.
The plan included recommendations to make reductions of a first grade teacher at both Sonoma Heights Elementary School and the Winnemucca Grammar School, a multi-grade teacher from the Orovada School and the Paradise Valley School, and one administrative position at the district level in conjunction with the proposed 2023-2024 school year budget and projected enrollment rates,—which are declining.
“We’re not necessarily saving money by reducing these [these positions]—we’re not spending money we don’t have,” explained Trustee Lonnie Hammargren.
The Trustees approved the staffing plan with an amendment to maintain the positions in Orovada and Paradise Valley in a split vote, with Hammargren in opposition.
“Is this going to be something that we can sustain? I don’t know…. This is something that we have to look at yearly,” said HCSD Board of Trustees Clerk Nicole Bengochea.
Staffing plans for schools and districts must meet the regulations outlined by the Nevada Revised Statutes, which grants funds to schools on a per-pupil basis, providing revenue based on enrollment. The plans also influence a teacher’s workload and oftentimes a student’s academic success.
“I just don’t want to short change any kid an education,” said Trustee Lori Woodland.
According to Dr. Jensen, the HCSD has dropped over 200 students in the past three years, with the District losing almost 200 students during and after the pandemic. The elementary levels have also seen a consecutive decline of 3.5% over the past three years.
For Kindergarten, the ratio is 16 students per one teacher, for first through third grade it is 22 students per one teacher, and for fourth through sixth grade it is 25 students per one teacher in Nevada.
The reduced positions at SHE and WGS will be rolled to the grade above, which will not force teachers out of a job, but can also help reduce class size. HCSD Curriculum Coordinator Colby Corbitt will be retaining his current position as well as taking the position of Principal at WGS, thus a reduction in one admin position as he moved to Principal.
According to Dr. Jensen, the HCSD is not in a position to force reduction, as there are over ten vacancies within the district, which means teachers can easily move to other grades if need be.
Orovada currently has three teachers who teach multiple grades, with a nine to one ratio, for Paradise Valley, also having three teachers, the ratio is about 11 students per one teacher, making both the classroom sizes much smaller than those schools in Winnemucca, but these teachers are expected to teach two to three times the grades that single grade teachers are in a day.
“It’s a different dynamic [at the rural schools],” said Bengochea.
The third positions were added to the Orovada and Paradise Valley schools around three years ago and Board members agreed that since then, they have heard very positive feedback about the needs of the students being met and parents and community members have made it clear that they do not want to see a reduction in teachers at the rural schools.
“We’re here for the students ultimately,” Bengochea went on to say.
At the meeting in which the positions were approved previously, former Board President Glenda Deputy said “We might not have money for electricity, but our kids will have teachers.”
School districts are not allowed to go into deficit, so staying within the proposed budget is not just a desire, but an absolute necessity.
It was just last year, around the same time, when $5.7 million was swept from the HCSD’s ending fund balance to the State thanks to a Net Proceeds of Mineral bill that was passed during the 2019 Legislative Session.
“Those legislators don’t think we need another dime…they don’t care what our class sizes are, they don’t care what our instructional aids make, they don’t care what our teachers make,” said Bengochea.
The sweep reduced the District’s ability to incentivize new teachers, provide certain programming, and give raises and bonuses, which have all been highlighted as a major want and concern for HCSD staff in the upcoming year, which will also be a negotiation year for staff.
“My goal over the next couple of years is to rebuild our stability,” said Dr. Jensen.
Despite the Trustees maintaining the positions at the rural schools, the HCSD still faces challenges with declining enrollment, which means declining funding.
“What would make this entirely go away is enrollment numbers increasing…It comes down to that per-pupil piece and we don’t have it,” said Hammargren.
“We’re searching for money every single day but we can’t pull dollars out of thin air.”