Individual Nye County school board members will be busy traveling throughout the county until Nov. 7, promoting the bond initiative.

The road show begins at 6 p.m. next Thursday at the Amargosa Valley Community Center. That will be followed by a town hall meeting at 6 p.m., Oct. 5 in Beatty, a 7 p.m. Oct. 12 meeting in Pahrump; a 3 p.m. Oct. 19 town hall meeting in Round Mountain and a 6 p.m. Nov. 2 final meeting in Tonopah.

Nye County School Board Vice-President Tracie Ward said the board as a whole isn't allowed to promote the passage of the bond issue. Individual board members, however, will travel to the various communities, along with some school administrators like the superintendent, to solicit comments. They will present the pros and cons of the bond issue.

An existing 10-year bond initiative is set to expire June 30, 2008. It has allowed the Nye County School District to fund school construction projects without going out for voter approval each time.

A flier printed by the school district, titled "Rooms 4 Kids 2 Learn," mentions that passage of the bond initiative last time allowed the construction of Rosemary Clarke Middle School, Hafen Elementary School, air-conditioning systems in the schools and a Manse Elementary School multi-purpose room, all in Pahrump.

The flier states the money also provided funds for renovations of existing schools, including $888,000 for Round Mountain schools; $836,000 for Tonopah schools; $304,000 for Amargosa Valley schools; $667,000 for Beatty schools; $170,000 for Gabbs schools and $53,000 for the Duckwater school.

Ward said the school district knows what projects need to be built due to the rapid growth in Pahrump, but school board members are interested in hearing from parents and community leaders about improvements that may be needed in the north county. As one example, she mentioned the all-weather track at Pahrump Valley High School, which was built after parents expressed an interest.

The school district brochure states the bond initiative would reduce school overcrowding, manage the growth in enrollment and be a vital investment in Nye County's economy by providing a skilled work force.

The school district currently taxes property at 58.5 cents per $100 of valuation, on top of the state tax rate of 75 cents.

The school district pamphlet states growth in the Pahrump area has been 12.5 percent over the past two years. Funds provided by the bonds would construct a new elementary, middle and/or high school in Pahrump, a new school in Amargosa Valley and then pay the costs of construction and equipment at existing schools throughout the county.

School enrollment has increased from 4,500 to nearly 6,500 in the past 10 years, the flier states. Enrollment figures as of last Friday show 6,435 students attending Nye County schools, an increase from 6,223 last May.

During a school board meeting this summer, President Debbie Westcoatt talked about building a new Beatty Elementary School, an addition to Rosemary Clarke Middle School, a technical high school in Pahrump and the new Floyd Elementary School in Pahrump.

School board members Friday voted to send a committee to Arizona to research a modular form of construction for the new Floyd Elementary School after the lower of two bidders withdrew a bid of $13.2 million. The school board had expected bids to come in at $12 million or less.

The board also voted to issue requests for proposals from architects wishing to design an elementary school made of modular classroom units that would be constructed off-site.