Trustees approves augmented budget for FY 2024

The Churchill County Board of School Trustees approved Jan. 31 the augmented budget and some pay increases.

Comptroller Christi Fielding and Superintendent Derild Parsons presented the district’s augmented budget for fiscal year 2024 with optimism for the remainder of the year.

A return to regularly-scheduled maintenance will allow for the completion of some previously delayed districtwide projects such as the replacement of the rusted handrails and broken concrete stairs at the front of the district’s administration building. The budget highlights also included additional capital projects, increased discretionary funds for all of the schools and purchases of classroom furniture and computer lab equipment.

Fielding said the available funding for vacant positions has been reduced to half to reflect the current school year reaching its halfway point.

In an effort to alleviate the negative effects of a severe staff shortage, the board approved Parsons’ request for a higher daily pay rate of $130 for emergency and licensed substitute teachers. Substitute teachers can also earn bonuses of $10 per day by working 60 to 75 percent of the school days in a semester, or $20 per day for working more than 75 percent of the school days. Long-term licensed substitute teachers now earn $180 per day for assignments that are longer than 20 days.

Long-term licensed substitute teachers in an open position will receive $200 per day in addition to employer-paid health insurance. They are also eligible to participate in the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System.

The board also addressed a lack of school bus drivers with a pay increase to be more competitive with surrounding districts. The starting salary for new drivers has moved up on the classified wage scale to range 28 at $19.22 per hour. Drivers who work five hours per day are eligible for full benefits and will be offered additional work tasks if a route is less than five hours.

All new salary rates are effective as of Feb. 1.

According to Parsons, driver shortage has forced the transportation department to operate on a rolling blackout schedule since schools returned from winter break. Each week some routes cannot run, leaving students on those routes to find alternate ways to get between school and home. This can cause difficulty for those households with one car, for example, or students who live too far from school to walk.

Many in the community have tried to help. For example, families have arranged carpools, and organizations such as the Fallon Youth Club and the Tribal Boys and Girls Club have provided extra pickups with their vans.

Churchill County High School Title VI Native American Liaison Carlene Pacheco said that several of her students who live on the Fallon Reservation have had to stay with friends and family in town during their blackout weeks.

Parsons said that the district is working to eliminate the blackout schedule as soon as possible and that a few new school bus drivers are currently in training.

Human Resources Manager Annette Cooper (coopera@churchillcsd.com) said that the hiring process is already underway for the 2024-25 school year. District personnel will search for candidates at job fairs within and outside of Nevada in the next several weeks. Vacancies are also posted daily online at K12JobSpot.com, Teachers-Teachers.com, Edjoin, LinkedIn and the district’s Facebook page.