Senate Bill No. 311–Senators Schneider, Neal and Shaffer

 

March 9, 2001

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Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Buckley, Parks, Bache, Price, Beers, Arberry, Berman, Brown, Chowning, Claborn, Giunchigliani, Lee, Manendo, McClain, Mortenson and Tiffany

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Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities

 

SUMMARY—Requires Clark County School District to construct certain schools. (BDR S‑969)

 

FISCAL NOTE:            Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                                    Effect on the State: No.

 

CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 1, 2)

(Not Requested by Affected Local Government)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to public schools; requiring the Clark County School District to construct certain schools; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

   Whereas, The education of the children of the State of Nevada is of fundamental importance; and

   Whereas, Extraordinarily rapid population growth in certain counties has compelled some local governments to establish programs for school construction that require all new schools to be built to accommodate large numbers of pupils; and

   Whereas, Studies suggest that pupils who attend schools with relatively smaller pupil populations tend to perform better on academic tests, suffer from fewer social and behavioral problems and enjoy greater opportunities for participation in extracurricular activities, and that the parents of such pupils are more likely to become actively involved in such schools; and

   Whereas, It would be beneficial to the residents of this state if some of the new schools to be built in counties experiencing rapid population growth accommodated a comparatively smaller number of pupils so that the relative merits of smaller schools might be the more readily demonstrated; and

   Whereas, The explosive growth in population that is responsible for the exclusive reliance on schools intended to accommodate large numbers of pupils does not affect all parts of the state equally and, therefore, a general law to redress this problem cannot be made applicable; now, therefore,

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1    Section 1. The Clark County School District shall construct at least:

1-2    1.  Four elementary schools intended to accommodate no more than

1-3  300 pupils per school;

1-4    2.  Four middle schools or junior high schools intended to

1-5  accommodate no more than 550 pupils per school; and

1-6    3.  Four high schools intended to accommodate no more than 900

1-7  pupils per school.

1-8    Sec. 2.  The schools constructed pursuant to section 1 of this act must

1-9  be completed no later than July 1, 2006.

1-10    Sec. 3.  The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply

1-11  to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the

1-12  provisions of this act.

1-13    Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

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