Washoe County School District’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved an increase in construction funding for the Stead Elementary rebuild project, which was the first new elementary school replacement project approved through the Facilities Modernization Plan back in December 2023.
The facilities modernization plan is funded by a voter-approved tax specifically to build or improve school facilities.
In August, trustees approved the construction phase of the project for $52.3 million, and in October, they received a construction bid for $54 million. All other bids were within a few percentage points of the lowest bid, according to Woodley.
The design includes 30 classrooms across 88,568 square feet, with a 738-student capacity. The project also includes a geothermal well with a 500-ft. depth, site work, grading for building pad, retaining walls, landscaping and more.
According to Tami Zimmerman, the district’s chief facilities management officer, there are a couple things contributing to the higher cost.
The first is cost increases in trade labor, specifically in mechanical, electrical and plumbing, with labor wage increases averaging 37% since 2022. There is also a sub-contractor shortage within the area due to projects in east Reno, she said.
Another issue is the ground source heat pump system. The district’s go-to well driller used to provide a turnkey service with everything needed for the project done by one contractor, but that contractor is no longer available. Now, because of the labor shortages, five well drillers are needed to complete the full scope of the project.
Trustees were in favor of going forward with the project because costs will only continue to increase, and they could lose sub-contractors if they put the project on hold.
“We have got to get going,” Trustee Colleen Westlake said. “If we keep putting the brakes on, we’re never going to get anything done.”
Trustees approved the funding for $54 million unanimously.
Native American language instruction to expand
Washoe County School District trustees on Tuesday heard an update on tribal students within the district, who represent more than 90 tribes from across the U.S.
There are 792 registered tribal students enrolled in WCSD. An additional 1,775 self-identified as American Indian but are not officially registered with the district as a “506 student”—a term referring to the federal Title VI Indian Education Formula Grant Program.
Trustees learned about the Paiute Language Class which is available to all students at three high schools in the district: Reed, Spanish Springs and Wooster.
In the 2023-24 school year, there were 77 students enrolled, including 49 non-506 students. This year, there are 89 students enrolled, including 68 non-506 students registered as of Oct. 1.
The district recently received a three-year Native American Language grant for Natchez Elementary, which will “center Numu language and cultural practices in classroom instruction in PreK through fifth grade through multi-disciplinary, culturally relevant instructional units and project-based learning.”
The first-year budget is $421,771 which will be used in part to hire a Numu language certified teacher specialist, a Numu language community specialist and an on-call Numu cultural arts educational trainer.
Last year was also the second year of the Native Youth Community Project, which provides mentorship to registered tribal students, resulting in over 7,300 meetings last year. Nearly all of the 506-designated students engaged in mentorship interventions with tribal youth advocacy specialists, ranging from receiving resources, to goal setting and going over grades. A total of 77 students participated in college trips both in and out of the state.
The programming has been credited with increasing graduation rates. In 2023, 58.9% of registered tribal students received a high school diploma, and last year, that number jumped to 69.7%.
