Clark County School District outlines student outcomes, hiring gains and budget reforms before Assembly panel

Clark County School District leaders briefed the Assembly Committee on Education on districtwide student outcomes, staffing, and budget-process changes, saying the district has begun to see year-over-year gains in some grade bands while recognizing that overall proficiency levels remain below targets.

Brenda Larson Mitchell, interim superintendent, told the committee the district serves about 296,000 students across roughly 374 schools and that 200 schools increased their NSPF index scores this year; 80 schools increased star ratings and six jumped two stars. She highlighted awards including a National Blue Ribbon and other honors for individual schools and principals.

Deputy Superintendent Melissa Gutierrez described instructional work: adoption of tier 1 instructional materials in math, English language arts and science; expanded professional learning offerings; refinement of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS); and increased access to pre-K seats and dual-enrollment courses. Gutierrez said enrollment in dual-enrollment classes has increased by more than 400% since February 2019 and that the district provided more than 14,000 pre-K seats this year.

Kelly Kowalpaul, chief strategy officer, described a cross-functional process improvement to the school budget cycle after the district received a notice of noncompliance from the Nevada Department of Education. Kowalpaul said the district completed corrective-action steps, submitted and had approved a corrective-action plan, met the January 15 statutory deadline to provide school allocations, and improved transparency for principals by issuing a school allocation workbook detailing how allocations are computed. She also said the district’s amended final FY25 budget showed an unassigned ending fund balance above the minimums required by state code (above 8% vs. the 4% threshold that would trigger reporting), that the district is not in deficit, and that state and local oversight bodies have confirmed its financial standing.

Larson Mitchell acknowledged that overall student outcomes “are not where we need to be,” but noted targeted improvements: grades 3–8 mathematics saw year-over-year gains across student groups for two consecutive years; grade 3 English language arts showed increased proficiency for most groups; middle-school science results improved with every student group making gains in the grade-8 cohort that previously tested in grade 5. District leaders also reported a record number of graduates in 2024 (21,736) and a steady graduation rate of about 81.5% in 2023–24; Larson Mitchell said grade 11 ACT proficiency has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Assembly members pressed for additional detail. Questions and district responses included: - Class-size context: Larson Mitchell and Kowalpaul said the district reports a 96% classroom fill rate but explained that the district’s vacancy definition treats a position as filled if the principal has budgeted and posted the position; actual class sizes vary and principals exercise autonomy in allocating staff. Kowalpaul said the district’s shift from allocating positions to allocating funds under NRS 388 (school-based budgeting) affects how principals staff classrooms. - Vacancies and long-term substitutes: Larson Mitchell said as of Feb. 12 the district had 815 classroom vacancies and that the district has hired about 2,430 new licensed educators this school year; she said HR has been reorganized and is pursuing a more robust recruitment-and-retention plan but did not have an exact long-term-substitute count and offered to provide additional data. - Budget corrective action and timeline: Kowalpaul said corrective-action steps had target dates through the end of the calendar year and that many steps were completed before the January allocations. She described continuing implementation and monitoring.

District leaders described safety and support programs: mental-health screening (Panorama), telehealth supports and referral services, 20,000 home visits through January, reading skill centers in more than 40 elementary schools, expanded summer and after-school programming, a coaching framework for educators, and 18 comprehensive modernization facility projects. Larson Mitchell also noted CCSD’s ESSER (COVID-relief) allocation (about $777 million) and said the district received commendations for transparency and community participation.

Committee members asked for follow-up data on long-term substitute counts, year-over-year licensed-teacher totals, and additional demographic breakdowns of leadership-development program graduates. District leaders offered to provide those figures to the committee.

Provenance: District presentation and Q&A with multiple assembly members on staffing, student outcomes, and budget allocation and corrective actions.