School Board approves up to $2.2 million in cuts due to declining enrollment

The Lyon County School Board voted 6–1 on Tuesday to approve up to $2.2 million in budget reductions for the 2026–27 fiscal year, responding to continued enrollment declines that have created a multimillion-dollar shortfall in state per-pupil funding.

Executive Director of Operations Harmon Bains told trustees the district’s enrollment began the year 125 students below projections and has continued to fall by roughly 30 students per quarter, leaving the district 185 students under budgeted expectations as of March 6. Under Nevada’s Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP), he said, that shortfall represents an estimated $4 million impact over the biennium.

Bains said the district is not attempting to cut the full amount in a single year but must take proactive steps to protect the general fund. He estimated that the reductions he presented total between $1.8 to $2.2 million.

The proposal presented to the trustees included reducing 22.5 interventionist positions funded through the College and Career Readiness program to 17.5 positions, with the program ending in 2027; eliminating the English Language Implementation Specialist, a district office position that has remained vacant; ending teacher-leader and administrative-leader stipends, which were created with federal pandemic-relief funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program, which cost about $650,000 annually; and eliminating summer custodial and groundskeeping positions, which Bains described as helpful but nonessential.

Trustee Darin Farr said he appreciated that the only eliminated position is one that has been vacant, meaning no employee loses a job. He described the reductions as trimming “luxuries” rather than cutting essential services and said other counties are facing far more severe cuts.

“We’re making the least possible cuts we can in order to stay afloat,” he said.

Trustee Elmer Bull asked how much the teacher-leader and administrative-leader stipends cost. Bains said teacher-leader stipends are $10,000 and administrative-leader stipends $12,000, totaling about $650,000 annually.

Bull said the district’s enrollment decline mirrors a statewide trend and raised concerns about students leaving for charter, private and home-school options. He said the issue is “serious” and may warrant a future agenda item.

“We can't keep going the direction we're going,” he said. “It’s unsustainable.”

Trustee Kallie Day asked whether the district is actively pursuing grants. Bains said the grants team constantly searches for opportunities and recently secured a $500,000 pre-K grant, adding that the district will continue seeking outside funding to support programs affected by reductions. Trustee Sherry Parsons expressed concern that eliminating teacher-leader stipends could shift uncompensated work onto teachers, particularly in special education. Superintendent Tim Logan said substitute teachers are licensed and allowed to assist with IEP processes, and that special education teachers will continue to be compensated for writing IEPs outside contract time. He said the loss of stipends removes expectations, not teaching positions, and that many teachers will likely continue mentoring colleagues voluntarily.

Bains added that non-teacher-leader staff already assist with IEPs and are paid for extra duty hours, a long-standing practice that will continue.

Trustee Tom Hendrix noted that staffing reductions do not always align neatly with enrollment loss because students leave across multiple grades and schools.

“I recognize that’s difficult, because if we lose five students across six different grades, we're not going to lose a teacher,” he said. “If we lose all of those 30 students within one grade level, then we would have a reduction of one teacher there.”

Bains said staffing allocations are determined by board-approved formulas and monitored by the human resources department, but acknowledged it is “not a perfect science.” He said it is within the board’s purview to scrutinize positions if needed, though he does not believe the district is at that point.

Bains said the district will present its full 2026–27 budget next month, incorporating the reductions approved Tuesday. He said enrollment will continue to be monitored and that the district intends to remain proactive rather than wait for deeper cuts to become unavoidable.

The motion by Trustee Dawn Carson to approve the proposed changes passed 6–1, with Trustee Sherry Parsons opposed.