In spite of the state's financial woes, Nye County Superintendent Rob Roberts was pleased to announce at Thursday's school board meeting that the school district will be receiving a little extra revenue.

The much-needed cash will come from a residential tax the Nye County Board of Commissioners had voted to continue levying at their meeting Wednesday.

The tax was first approved by county commissioners in August 2004 and allows up to $1,600 to be collected by the county on new homes and apartment buildings by unit.

"As a result, this has allowed us not to go to double session, has allowed us not to really overcrowd the schools, separate families and lots of things," Roberts said.

The school district, having already been forced recently to cut $2.6 million from its budget, will in turn specifically allocate the funding for the construction, remodeling and additions to existing school buildings.

Asking for a construction tax during a nationwide housing slump may seem counterintuitive at first, but the school district, in a letter previously addressed to the commissioners, is looking to the future.

Focus Property Group, for example, may have stalled on construction, but when the economy picks up and all those new homes are built, the families that move into them will bring plenty of future Nye County students the district will need to accommodate.

"I thank the county commissioners for looking into the future because we're not overcrowded right now, but when the next wave comes in we'll be ready for that," Roberts said.

During the last four fiscal years since the tax was levied it has raised just over $5 million.

That money was used to add 66 mobile classrooms and helped the schools keep pace with an average 4 percent annual growth since the 2004 academic year.

Before the school district can start storing the taxes in its capital improvement piggy bank, however, it also needs to be approved by the Nevada State Tax Department.