Even counting the school district employees and their family members who attended the bond issue meeting in Beatty Oct. 4, the turnout was disappointing. Some people commented that it was not adequately publicized, although flyers were posted and sent home with students.

School board President Deborah Wescoatt conducted the meeting, starting out by showing a video of school board members and administrators visited to gather ideas for construction of the new high school and two elementary facilities planned for Pahrump.

Wescoatt explained that permanent modular construction, which consists of units constructed in the contractor's own plant and then installed on concrete slabs could save the district considerable time and money. Using this approach, she said they should be able to have Floyd Elementary, which will be built using the last of the previous bond issue money, ready to open in August 2007.

The most vocal Beatty audience member was former town board member Larry Gray. He called the claim that the bond issue would not raise taxes deceptive since, he said, if there were no new bond issue, taxes would be lower when the current bonds were paid off. "Why should the rest of the county have to pay for Pahrump schools," he asked, arguing that Beatty's property tax rate was at the legal cap, while Pahrump's was not.

Gray also wanted to know why the district couldn't get PETT money from the county to help build the schools. Wescoatt explained that the district had tried that approach, but the county, which has its own financial difficulties, had declined to make an offer.

"It still comes down to the fact Pahrump needs our money," said Gray.

"Absolutely," said Wescoatt, "and will for some time to come."

Ray Ritchie, the district's chief financial officer, explained that the district's money was not divided out by community but was all lumped together.

Gray insisted that going to year-round schools and double sessions would be another way to handle the growth in Pahrump. He claimed that year-round schools improve learning and keep teachers from needing a three-month break to recuperate.

Wescoatt disagreed with that assessment. She said the district had tried the year-round approach in Pahrump but parents had not been happy with it.

"If this bond issue doesn't pass, you're going to see a lot more problems," Pahrump High School Principal Don Norton told the audience.

Wescoatt got an earful about the inadequacies of Beatty's aging elementary and middle school buildings, including backed-up toilets, moldy air conditioning units, disintegrating and buckling flooring, propane odor and a narrow, crowded hallway. She said these concerns need to be brought before the board, and that health and safety issues take precedent.

She said that a new elementary and middle school building could not be included in the "first round," but they could be a possibility in the future.

Some of the problems with the existing buildings would be prohibitively expensive to fix by tearing out walls or flooring because of the presence of asbestos. Meanwhile, other measures can be taken to address some of the problems. One example given was a new kind of carpet that can be laid down to seal the old floor.

Elllice Dunsterville complained that Beatty students do not get an equivalent educational opportunity with students in Pahrump. As examples, she said that high school students get fewer choices of electives and foreign languages and that elementary classrooms lack computers for student use. She was told that the computer lab she saw in Pahrump was acquired with grant money.

With past bond issues, the district has promised particular projects for the schools in each community. That is not the case this time around, mainly since new state regulations have kept the district from knowing just how much they will be allowed to bond. Instead, the district is gathering information on what is wanted in each school.

Wescoatt said state legislators and administrators have the view that there are two school districts in Nevada -- Clark and Washoe -- and that they are deaf and blind to the needs of the rest of the state. She urged parents to form a grass-roots movement to let their voices be heard in Carson City regarding funding for education in rural counties.