School district posts budget on website to boost communication

Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones used his Jan. 14 State of the District address to unveil a website designed to make the district "one of the most transparent large school districts in the nation."

A breakdown of the $2 billion budget is available online at ccsd.net/district/open-book. Visitors can use interactive tools for departmental analysis and budget comparison and also submit cost-saving ideas at savings@interact.ccsd.net.

This information was available in the past but was difficult to find because it was in a 200-plus-page document. Since 2008, the district has cut nearly $600 million in spending.

"While it is important for us to be transparent about our academic success, I ask you to consider (that) we should be equally transparent about how we spend taxpayer dollars," said Jones, speaking at Western High School, 4601 W. Bonanza Road.

In November, Clark County voters rejected a ballot initiative to raise money to repair older schools and build new ones to alleviate overcrowding. Jones said he heard the message from voters "loud and clear."

"You weren't convinced we would spend the money wisely," he said.

Jones said he hopes the community will use the online tool to see for itself where the district spends its "scarce" dollars.

About 90 percent goes to salaries and benefits for more than 24,000 teachers, support staff members and administrators.

The district pointed out that it spends less than $40 per student, per day, which it said is less than other comparable school districts. Clark County is the nation's fifth-largest district, with 311,000 students.

The district also said it has the lowest ratio of administrators to students in the nation, at 1 to 341.

District spokeswoman Amanda Fulkerson said Clark County is one of the first large districts to make its budget easily accessible online. She said that each year, the budgets will be added to the system and can be compared easily with past years.

"This was always meant to be a two-way communication feature," Fulkerson said. "If you have an idea, let us know."

Fulkerson also said the district eventually would like to break down the budget to the school level, though there is no timeline for such a project to be finished.

Jones compared the district's plight to that of a marathon runner.

"We've passed some mile markers, but the finish line is not yet in sight," he said. "I think about where we started. When I arrived, graduation rates told a very grim story. Let's be honest, we were at the bottom. We were part of the club no one wanted to belong to."

Jones said scores from state assessments are up in nearly every subject and at every grade level and that 77 percent of schools earned a three-star rating or higher out of five stars using the district's performance measurement tool.

Jones said the district will start implementing a more rigorous curriculum in middle schools, which he expects to help students when they enter high school. He also wants to expand the district's technology programs, such as iPad distribution in at-risk schools.

At Von Tobel Middle School, 2436 N. Pecos Road, discipline referrals were cut in half since iPads were distributed at the beginning of the school year, said Jones, because students were more engaged in class.

Jones also said the new method of measuring student achievement ---- the growth model ---- will help identify the best teachers and schools.

"We can now identify teachers who do the most to help students grow academically each year," he said. "We want to offer these educators opportunities to grow as professionals, take on more responsibility, earn more money, garner more recognition and impact more students.

"At the same time we're holding teachers and school leaders more accountable, I also need to be held to a higher standard."

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 702-224-5524.