Council Adopts Resolution For Regional School Districts

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The Mesquite City Council formally adopted a resolution in support of the state allowing the establishment of regional school districts in Clark County during a meeting held on Tuesday, April 25.

The resolution was originally brought forward to show support for Assembly Bill 420 (AB420) which had been drafted through the efforts of a local ad-hoc committee working with state legislators. The bill would have created a new independent northeast Clark County school district made up of the eight schools in the Moapa and Virgin Valleys. The bill was held up in committee last month where it expired on April 14 for lack of any action.

But committee members in attendance at last week’s meeting told the council that there were still hopes that the concepts behind AB420 might be taken up again this year at the legislature through its being attached to another item.

“We haven’t give up hope that, in some way, this might move forward,” said committee member Cathy Davis, a former principal at Virgin Valley Elementary School. “The city’s lobbyist Warren Hardy is still working with us on other options and for the substance of the bill to go forward. We want to ask the council to continue to show local support in this concept.”
Council members all voiced strong support for the resolution.

Councilwoman Karen Fielding reiterated that, though the bill had timed out in committee, the substance of it was still very much alive and being worked on at the legislature. “I still think we need to move forward with this,” she said. “And in the event that it does become a dead bill for this session, we are going to have more momentum in two more years when we keep working on it.”

Fielding asked Davis if the ad-hoc committee was still accepting members from the community to help in the effort. Davis responded that the committee is an open body and that people who are interested in working on the cause being involved would be welcome to join the group.

Councilman Wes Boger said that a common misconception he has heard from area residents is that property taxes would go up if the new independent district was formed.

Committee member Jodi Thornley, who is also Chair of the Virgin Valley Community Education Advisory Board (VVCEAB) said that this was not the case.

“All of the taxes we pay throughout the county and state go into the same pot and then the state divvies it out to the different school districts on a per pupil basis,” Thornley said. “So it is just the amount of money that should already be coming to us. It just comes from the state rather than through CCSD.”

Thornley added that the goal would be to pass 90 percent of that funding directly on to the school level to decide how to spend it. It has been calculated that, currently, only 60 percent of the funding makes it past CCSD central down to the local schools, she said.

“Our vision would be to keep a skeleton crew in the new district’s admin office,” Thornley said. “So the funds would get down into the school, the classroom and to the students. We want the money there so we can provide a better education.”

Councilman Paul Wanlass asked how the Board of Trustees for the new district would be chosen. Thornley responded that the details of that had not fully been determined as it would be subject to the legislation.

“But what we had originally suggested was a board of five,” Thornley said. “Two would represent the City of Mesquite, one from Bunkerville, one from Moapa Valley and one from Moapa. We have heard, however, that the law might require a seven member board. So that is something that could be worked out.”

During public comment, community members spoke in favor of the resolution.

VVHS teacher Kai Davis said that it would be nice to have local control over basic education decisions. He pointed out that schools are not even able to control their own air conditioning at the local level.

“I like the idea of localizing what is going on,” Kai Davis said. “For example, if something happens here in Mesquite; say at the rec center or at the water district; I know exactly who to go talk to. There is nothing like that right now with CCSD. It is like an act of Congress to get things taken care of.”

During a public comment, committee member Wendy Mulcock, who resides in Logandale, talked about efforts being made to broaden the coalition in favor of the effort. She said that she was working on getting an agenda item on all three of the town advisory boards to also gain their formal support.

She also had meetings scheduled with the Native American Education Committee to request letters of support from them; and the Moapa Band Tribal Council as well.
“We are not going to be finished with this,” Mulcock said. “If our efforts fail here this year, we try again. In 2025 we will be positioned even better to go after it again if it doesn’t happen this time.”
Committee member Ken Cox, of Mesquite, pointed out that, in the State of the State address,

Governor Joe Lombardo had pledged an extra $2,000 per student over the next two years. With the roughly 4,000 students in the proposed new district, this would amount to around $8 million in additional funding, he said.
“That is $8 million that we will never see from CCSD until we get a bill like this passed,” Cox said.

Cox added that he had worked as superintendent of a school district in Idaho that had 4,300 students and a budget of $50 million. “We are projecting $100 million for about 4,000 students,” he said. “A lot can be done with the funding if we can get the government on our side.”

In the end, Boger made a motion to approve the proposed resolution to support the idea of allowing regional school districts to be divided off of CCSD and specifically that a northeast Clark County school district be formed. The motion was approved with a unanimous vote.