Eureka schools face enrollment dip, revise improvement plan, approve teacher training

The Eureka County School Board met Tuesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. with all members present except Dillon Pollock.

District Improvement Plan

Superintendent Tate Else began discussion of the District Improvement Plan to be submitted to the Nevada Department of Education.

Else noted, “We have a substantially earlier submission date for our District Improvement Plan this year,” which is due by April 15. He explained that the District Improvement Plan incorporates Department of Education requirements and the Governor’s 18 Accountability Goals, plus new goals from last year. 

The goal they are primarily focusing on is Innovative Solutions and College and Career Technical. Else said, “Last year when we submitted it, we got a bad grade, so we had to redo it.” Else said all students are on “track to receive a college and technical career diploma when we do meet that requirement and goal.” Else said the plan can be changed at any time and the board’s approval isn’t required, but he didn’t want to submit it without their seeing it. The board approved the plan. 

In considering the District Mission Statement and Goals, Else said there have been various versions of the goals in the seven years he’s been superintendent. Else said all three schools have separate student achievement goals, but he doesn’t think it’s bad if they maintain the same District Performance Goals. The board will continue considering the mission statement and goals at the next meeting in May.

Out-of-state travel

The board approved allowing Superintendent Else to approve out-of-state travel for teachers and administrators to attend Kagan Conferences as opportunities arise to be paid for with grant funding set aside for training and professional development. Else said three new teachers need to get through the initial Kagan training. Trainings will be in June, July and August. 

Five-year plan

In discussing updates and changes to the District Five-Year Plan, Rhonda Wilker, finance director, noted items in the plan include a Eureka Elementary School expansion, a boardroom and a junior high.

Else said enrollment numbers were decreasing, which will affect the budget. “We’re going to be down to about 284 next year” which is “about $575,000 less revenue we’re anticipating next school year.” Else said, “Our staffing is still good.” 

In the seven years of Else’s tenure, Crescent Valley enrollment has fluctuated from as high as 49 to as low as 20. Else said, “Next year, we’re looking at just under 30 students in Crescent Valley, 120 students at Eureka Elementary, 45 at the middle school and 105 at the high school.” Last year there were 171 students at Eureka High School. 

Else said next year’s sophomores are the largest class and there will be 27 seniors, with nine incoming 3-K students. 

Housing growth related to mine expansion in Eureka and Crescent Valley is an unknown, but Else felt it “crucial to make that transfer to capital improvements. Ten percent is allowable every year.”

Else said several fiscal bills are being considered at the state level. 

He recommended considering an elementary and high school expansion, rather than a middle school expansion. He said Crescent Valley is able to handle substantial growth structurally. 

Else added, “I do believe we are going to grow; I just don’t think it’s this next year.” He said with current staffing and classroom availability, “We can absorb a lot more growth now than we could two or three years ago.” Mine expansion is projected to bring employees to Eureka in 2030. 

Doran Adams, maintenance director, said the track needs to be replaced due to large cracks and the back side heaving up when it freezes. Adams wants to put in new LED lights and make the track one lane wider so it’s an official track. 

Tentative 2026 Budget

In looking at the Tentative 2026 Budget, Else noted the current budget is based on estimates and that the governor’s proposed budget has not yet been voted on. On Thursday a lot of ESSA [Every Student Succeeds Act] funds were frozen by the federal government, but Else said it doesn’t impact Eureka, He forecasts a special session with funding lower than anticipated.

Wilker related the next time the board will see the Tentative Budget is at the May 20 budget hearing. The estimated enrollment will be adjusted from 300 to 284. 

Else said he had a “brief conversation with the special ed director for the state last Thursday” and he believes $200,000 for special projects will be lost.

Eureka High School report

Eureka High School principal John Glover reported the kids have been busy with a lot of travel. Band students attended Eastern Nevada Regional Band Festival in Elko and received a superior rating; FFA students returned home from the state convention in Reno. Twenty students went on a field trip to the University of Nevada. State SBAC testing has begun for seventh and eighth graders. 

Turning to sports, Glover said the track team is in the middle of their season. He went to the meet in Douglas and commented, “It’s really refreshing how our kids act on the road.” The high school and junior high track teams will compete at home in Eureka April 11 and 12. He said the softball team is doing really well and won against Tonopah last weekend but lost in Carlin on Monday, April 7. High school rodeo season is in full swing, and the prom will be April 26 at the Eureka Opera House. 

Elementary schools update

Elementary school principal Lisa Hutchison said Eureka and Crescent Valley Elementary are also doing SBAC testing. Math testing is coming up for grades K through 2 on April 28. There will be a Math Night in Crescent Valley, and Crescent Valley Elementary started a track club held Monday through Wednesday at the last recess with K-6 students and teachers. They have walked or run 132 miles since February. 

Eureka Elementary’s 10th Annual Art Show will be April 28 at 6 p.m. with the theme “circus.” The JPO dance recital will be held at the elementary school at 2:15 April 16, and the actual recital will be at the Opera House April 17 at 6 p.m. The student council is hosting a Mother/Son Game Night on April 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Eureka Elementary School. Spring pictures for students and staff will be on April 21. April 28 at 1:30, Mr. Cuda’s sixth-grade band concert will see junior high school band students come and play with the sixth-grade students.

District office updates

The district office will be at the annual Trainers Software Conference May 10, so the office will be closed and calls forwarded to the high school that week.

Else related that Jhone Ebert has moved on from being state superintendent, with interim superintendent Steve Canavero named by the governor. The search for a state superintendent is underway, with Canavero not applying for the position. Else is presently on the search committee.

Negotiations with the Teachers’ Association will hopefully be scheduled in early May. “I would really, really like to see them done prior to the fiscal year roll-over,” Else said. 

The last Kagan observations of the year are upcoming and will have a component of AI. Else said, “We are teaching our students how it can be used ethically and safely and put limits on it, and we want to make sure we get ahead of it before it gets ahead of us.” 

Follow-up with the superintendent

In a follow-up phone conversation with Superintendent Else on Wednesday, April 9, the Sentinel asked if he could give an overview and insight into how changes at the federal level with the Department of Education may impact Nevada as a whole and Eureka in particular.

“Well, that is a very tough question to answer right now,” Else said. “I think there’s so many unanswered questions that we don’t know about. I think as the year progresses, and as the next fiscal year starts, we will have more knowledge as to what that exactly looks like.”

Else said, “All of the funding sources right now that look like they’re going away are supplemental or additional, like special project-type grants…We want to keep all of our programming in place for all of our students. That is going to have to mean reprioritizing some of the things spent out of the General Fund budget to ensure quality programming for students.”

Else thinks some of the special education project funds may be cut, but he’s been assured Title I and IDEA funding from the federal government will remain. 

Presently, Eureka County School District has not had any funding losses. 

Asked if he thought he would ever see the Federal Department of Education eliminated, Else said, “There are some portions in there that I think do need to be looked at and reviewed. I don’t know that it all needs to be done in one day.”