Stokes': Carson City school district 'moving in a positive direction'

Using data collected at the state, district and school levels, Superintendent Richard Stokes gave members of the Carson City School Board an overview of the school district Tuesday night.

"We're working hard," he said. "We're not perfect. We have a ways to go, but we're certainly moving in a positive direction."

He presented a snapshot of the students in the district along ethnic lines. About 52 percent of the students are white, and 39.8 percent are Hispanic. Native Americans make up 2.2 percent of the population, Asians 1.8 percent, blacks .5 percent, and 3.3 percent are multi-race.

"These numbers are a pretty good representation of the city in general," he said.

Just over 10 percent are enrolled in special-education classes, 17.8 percent are learning English as a second language and 43.8 percent qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Stokes said the number of students qualifying for free lunch has increased, but the transiency rate - or students moving from the district or to other schools - has dropped a couple of percentage points to 16.3 percent.

Last year's graduation rate dropped to 86.9 percent from 90.5 percent the previous year, but still higher than the statewide average of 70.3 percent.

However, Stokes said, he expects that number will change in the coming year as the state unveils a new formula for calculating graduation rates.

"We don't know yet how that new formula will impact us," Stokes said.

He also gave a breakdown of how district money is spent.

"If you're looking at the state, we support instruction at a higher level," he said.

The district spends 64.1 percent of its budget on instruction, while the statewide average is 60.1 percent. Across the state, 7.5 percent of schools' budgets go to leadership. The Carson City School District spends 4.7 percent.

District enrollment continues to decline, he pointed out, saying it has dropped to 7,512 from September when 7,594 students were counted.

He listed several programs to be implemented in the coming year as part of an initiative to encourage student-centered learning.

"We know that teachers are in charge. We know the administrators are assisting in that work," he said. "But we are trying to put in front of our students a uniform curriculum to give all of our students the same opportunities."

Trustee Jim Lemaire said he's noticed a trend that was not included in the report.

"From the community, there's an uptick of enthusiasm and energy," he said. "Thanks for that."