Douglas County trustees weigh school consolidations and authorize classified reductions as part of plan to close $6.9 million gap

Douglas County School District No. Re 1 trustees on Feb. 3 reviewed detailed facility assessments and three consolidation scenarios aimed at closing a multi‑million dollar budget gap and voted to authorize notices for classified reductions as one element of the plan.

Superintendent Frankie Alvarado told the board the district is “close to a $5,200,000 deficit this year” and said staff had modeled a target of “reducing $6,900,000 by June 2027,” a package of savings that would include staff reductions as well as other measures. He said the district had identified consolidation scenarios in the North, South and Lake areas that, taken conservatively, could save roughly $2.2 million combined while noting substantial operational and capital costs tied to any closure or consolidation.

The district’s director of facilities, Phil Demas, reviewed three years of capital work at each campus and spelled out pending and forecast projects — from rooftop package‑unit replacements and boiler work to pavement and stadium upgrades — with project estimates ranging from tens of thousands for minor repairs to multi‑million dollars for large HVAC or field projects. “I have about $2,000,000 a year to work with for capital improvement,” Demas said of the district’s capital allotment.

Trustees asked administrators to produce two additional consolidation scenarios and more detail on the financial assumptions and timelines. Alvarado said boundary adjustments, transportation routing, and stakeholder town halls would be required and that the board would need to make decisions in time to affect open‑enrollment and staffing allocations for the 2026‑27 school year; open enrollment was scheduled for Feb. 9–20.

Public comment at length focused on the Lake schools (Zephyr Cove and George Whittell). Dozens of parents, teachers and community members urged the board not to consolidate Lake campuses, arguing the state’s rural attendance funding raises per‑pupil revenue there (citizens cited a district figure of about $20,098 per Lake student) and warning that closures would drive families to California or other alternatives and erase any projected savings. “Please stop asking the Lake families to defend our right to exist,” one attendee said.

Other speakers urged the district to pursue revenue opportunities — including Medicaid billing for school‑based services and other local revenue strategies — and asked the board to hire senior financial leadership. Ellen Marquez, a parent and outreach/fiscal manager with the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, encouraged the district to pursue Medicaid billing, saying it ‘‘simply allows the district to receive federal reimbursement for services already being delivered.”

During discussion of personnel, administrators described the steps required to realize savings and the legal limits on moving restricted funds. Alvarado said some reductions would need to be implemented quickly to produce savings the district must report to the Department of Taxation; staff estimated that more than 60 positions would need to be reduced across the district over the planning horizon if other measures do not close the gap.

On a formal motion, the board voted unanimously to authorize reduction‑in‑force notices for classified and classified‑management positions under the cited statutory authority; trustees and staff emphasized that that authorization is the step that allows the district to proceed with required notices and that any individual personnel actions will return to the board as personnel items. Trustee Zinkie moved the authorization; Trustee Burns seconded. District counsel explained statutory protections that make administrators ineligible for immediate RIFs while classified staff are subject to 30/40‑day notice rules.

The board said it will return with additional scenario detail and hold town halls for affected communities while continuing other cost‑saving work, including negotiating with employee associations, pursuing benefits savings and reviewing non‑student‑facing expenses.

What’s next: the district will post the additional scenarios and a 10‑year financial analysis and schedule town halls; specific personnel actions resulting from the RIF authorization will come back to the board in subsequent personnel items.