Teachers welcome start of school term

The opportunity to teach U.S. history at Desert Pines High School was Samantha Kelley's ticket to independence.

The 2008 graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the job offer she received this summer from the Clark County School District relieved her uncertainty about the future.

"My shoulders don't feel like they touch the ground anymore," Kelley said. "I can save. I can move out (of my parents' house). I have benefits. At 27, I'm ready."

The gratitude felt by new hires permeated the district's teacher orientation on Wednesday. The district has recruited 434 new teachers so far for the 2010-11 school year, that begins Aug. 30. Hiring has dropped dramatically as a result of Nevada's economic downturn. Two years ago, the district brought 2,500 to 3,000 new teachers on board, officials said.

Overall, the district has about 18,000 teachers to serve 308,000 students.

Because of declining enrollment and a tight budget, the district has scaled back hiring and employment perks. Teachers no longer get $200 purchasing credit cards to use for classroom supplies.

But many teachers at the orientation at Coronado High School in Henderson said they were just happy to have a job. The unemployment rate is close to 15 percent in Las Vegas.

Before Kelley was hired at Desert Pines, near Pecos Road and Washington Avenue, she "probably prayed 10 times a day."

When the job offer was left on her voice mail, Kelly said she did not believe the news until she confirmed it the next day. "I thought it was a joke," Kelley said.

Jeff Gromny had to find a new job after working as a geologist for the Yucca Mountain project for 15 years. The Obama administration has taken steps to discontinue the federal plan to turn the site into a nuclear waste dump.

Because "it was closing down, I had accepted a job up in Washington, but my wife and son did not want to go," Gromny said.

He decided to follow the example of several family members and friends who work in the district and become a teacher.

Gromny finished an alternative licensure program for teachers over the summer and will be teaching geographical information systems at West Career and Technical Academy, a new vocational school opening on West Charleston Boulevard near Desert Foothills Drive.

"I am extremely excited to teach kids, not only to teach what I've known through my profession all those years, but also the opportunity to open a new school," Gromny said. "Because it's a technical school, I will have a lot of opportunities to present what I know through the real world experiences I've had."

His classroom now has "a lot of bones and rocks."

Because he will be teaching science, Gromny said he is not worried about job security. The district has a shortage of teachers in science, math and special education.

Another science teacher, Tyrone McMullins, came to Las Vegas from the Pasadena Unified School District in California. He will be teaching at Knudson Middle School, 2400 Atlantic St., near East Sahara Avenue.

Because enrollment in Pasadena was declining, McMullins thought "this was a good time to move."

"I visit Las Vegas often and read that there were a significant number of science positions unfilled, 67 jobs I believe," he said. "I was thinking, 'Wow, they need some help and I'm pretty good.' "

Like Gromny, McMullins is passionate about teaching science. Because "of climate change and green jobs, a science education is more vital than ever before," McMullins said.

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes has indicated that he wants to use new federal funding for education jobs to fill teaching jobs in critical shortage areas.

Rulffes also has said he wants to appoint a committee of principals to advise him, but also wants to give schools more latitude on hiring decisions.

Gov. Jim Gibbons has applied for $83 million in federal funding to hire 1,400 teachers for Nevada.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.