Nevada School District Slaps Freeze on Most Expenditures

Washoe County school pupils will be sharpening their pencils down to the erasers and using both sides of the paper in response to a districtwide freeze designed to trim millions of dollars in spending.

“We anticipate having to cut possibly as much as $6 million from the budget this year,” Supet. Mary Nebgen said last week. “For this reason I am . . . freezing all expenditures.”

State tax revenue shortfalls have forced the school district to anticipate budget cutbacks. The new spending restrictions follow the district’s recent hiring freeze that will leave unfilled any vacated administrative positions.

“The very real possibility of a $5-million to $6-million budget cut has prompted the superintendent to impose an immediate freeze on all spending except for fixed costs and ongoing obligations such as fuel, utilities, insurance, etc.,” a district memo said.

School district officials could request exemptions to meet an emergency.

“The freeze applies to everything and anything,” said district spokesman Steve Mulvenon. “One way to look at this is a little bit of a temporary insurance plan.

“If we are going to lose between $5 million and $6 million, given the fact that 85% of our budget is personnel-related, we are almost certainly talking about reducing the size of our work force,” Mulvenon said.

The freeze, which only applies to general fund items, would not hinder the fall opening of Marvin Moss Elementary School.

“It applies to almost everything else,” Mulvenon said.

“This is nothing compared to what we may have to do,” school board President Michael Wright said on Friday.

“There will be some areas that will make some eyebrows raise. I shouldn’t talk about staff cuts, but we’re looking at everything from the top down.”

If district employees would be willing to forgo a 3% to 4% raise, Wright said the district could save as much as $4 million.

“To me, I’d rather hold my job and forget the raise,” Wright said. “I’d be willing to cut back.”