Nye County school board approves budget after staffing cut debate

The Nye County School District Board of Trustees pushed through its 2026-2027 budget by a 5-2 vote after weeks of backlash over staffing cuts that could change classroom support, school safety and student services across the county. The decision came at the June 2 regular meeting in the Southern District Office Boardroom in Pahrump, with the district facing a June 8 deadline to file a final budget with the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Trustees had already rejected an earlier version of the budget 6-1 on May 20 after more than three hours of public comment. The board then revisited the plan after a May 15 workshop in which Chief Operating Officer Ray Ritchie presented the general budget. District materials also allowed public comments by email before and during the June 2 meeting, underscoring how much pressure had built around the vote.

The numbers driving the fight were severe. Human Resources Director Chelle Wright told trustees that 51 teaching positions were slated for elimination in the draft budget. Wright said the district had 28 vacant positions and 16 critical-needs teachers, meaning 44 of the 51 positions could potentially be absorbed through existing openings, but seven could still be left without a landing spot. The proposed general-fund cuts totaled $8,865,112.

The final plan also added three social worker positions, along with a learning coordinator and instructional coaches and ELL advocates across different schools. Earlier drafts had targeted campus monitors and district-level staff, and many residents argued that cutting those jobs would weaken communication, engagement and school safety. KTNV reported that the latest proposal could have contributed to a 66% loss of school social worker services in Nye County if it had been adopted unchanged. The Nevada School Social Work Association said the district had already reduced three school social work or mental health professional positions in the prior 12 months.

Leslie Campos, the board president, said after the vote that the board appreciated everyone who spoke and that the decision was not taken lightly. The split itself showed how sharply trustees were divided over how to balance the books without hollowing out services for students in a district that serves about 5,873 students across 27 schools.

The budget fight comes at a fragile moment for district governance. Former board president Bryan Wulfenstein resigned effective March 2, and the board has opened a superintendent search with applications due July 14. The seven elected trustees now face the political consequences of a budget that protects the district’s finances while leaving families and staff to absorb the cost of the cuts.