A Hail Mary Pass for Northside

  Clarification: The Nevada Ready Pre-Kindergarten Grant was submitted for the May 1st deadline. The ZOOM grant for Dual Language Learners will be submitted if the expected funding is passed during this legislative session.  by Leanna Lehman -- The Churchill County School District director of special services, Derild Parsons, has just submitted two grants to the State Department of Education, hoping to continue funding for programs at the Northside Early Learning Center. NELC provides early learning opportunities to approximately 180 students, including programs for three and four-year olds, special education classes SPED and programs for English Language Learners ELL. Due to a catastrophic funding crisis, the iconic school and model of excellence in the field of early childhood development in Nevada, has been stripped of most its funding for the 2019-20 school year. The current predicament at NELC is the result of the simultaneous reduction or elimination of several funding sources in what administrators have called “the perfect storm.” For the past five years, Northside has been largely funded by a federal matching grant, administered by the Nevada Department of Education Office of Early Learning. The program is designed to “create or expand sustainable high-quality preschool programs in high-need communities,” with the goal of eventually becoming self-supported. This Pre-Development Grant PDG was a five-year grant and expired in December of 2018. According to Parsons, the PDG guidelines prohibit districts from reapplying if they are currently receiving PDG funds, creating a need for new funding sources if the program is to continue. Northside has been the model for the state in terms of creating a successful early childhood program. Governor Sandoval visited the campus several times while he was in office and several other districts, including Humboldt and Nye counties have built programs to reflect the successes of Northside. There have been three separate funding bills proposed in the legislature this year during the legislative session that would create a statewide early childhood program along with providing funding. However, it’s likely decisions will not be known until the session is over in June. Along with the uncertainty of the potential state funding, it is unknown if the grants Parsons just submitted will be funded as well. An announcement is expected June 14^th after the legislature adjourns. “I’ve spent weeks writing grants that may or may not be funded,” said Parsons. “But if we don’t apply then we will have no program if the funding does come through at the legislature.” At present, the NELC plan for 2019-2020 is bare-bones. “We’ve had to make decisions based on information we don’t even have,” stated Parsons. The CCSD Board of Trustees voted at their April 24^th meeting to cut general fund money for Northside, citing their mandate to provide services for K-12 programs. Parsons said Reduction in Force notices had to be provided to staff by May 1^st, the same day the grant was due, “so the board voted last week to RIF.” He says if the district doesn’t do the RIF notices and keeps staff in the hopes of funding coming through, and it doesn’t, “we can’t afford to keep those positions when the district doesn’t have enough money.” The decision has affected eight NELC teachers who have been assigned to openings in elementary positions at other schools. Movement for the classified positions is still in the works. “All of this happens with the associations,” said Parsons, referencing the negotiated contracts the district has with the licensed and classified unions. But then if the funding does come through in June, “then there’s a scramble to fill spots,” said Parsons. He said in that scenario, there will be recall notices, “our staff has the right to re-apply for their spots as per the terms of the contract.” But then there is a the rush of late hiring to fill empty spots that may leave at the elementary schools. “It just makes it much more difficult for this to all work,” he said. Phyllys Dowd, Business Services Director provided costs through Parsons for the NELC programs. According to district officials, during the 2018-19 year costs were $2.3 million with $1.3 million coming from state and federal funds. SPED funds received totaled about $460,000 with an additional $488,000 coming from the general fund with a small influx of $60,000  from other district sources. “The grant falls short, so the district has been putting in roughly $400K to make up the difference,” said Parsons. At this point, not knowing what will happen at the legislature, the only funds the district can count on for NELC are the SPED funds that provide services for only two classrooms of four-year-olds at most. Most of the students served by Northside are ELL, SPED, or qualify for the program based on free and reduced hot lunch guidelines. For roughly 140 students, this means they no longer have the benefit of the early jump start into education. “Districts do this all the time, cut programs in short years,” Parsons said, “but it’s rare on this scale to sacrifice a program.  If we had the money it wouldn’t be an issue.” Read the district information on applying for a spot at Northside next year: Northside 2019-20   Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.