AMARGOSA VALLEY -- The Nye County school board trekked to Amargosa for its March 13 meeting and began a discussion about where to place the new high school it had approved last December.

But as Nye County Superintendent Rob Roberts put it, planning for a school district is often like "trying to look into the crystal ball," and, given a flat student enrollment rate which translates into less per-pupil money from the state, it might be time to reconsider the decision to build a second high school.

As the superintendent pointed out, building the school is one thing -- staffing it is another matter.

The cost to put into place maintenance personnel, secretaries, athletic coaches, administration and, of course, teachers could be anywhere from $1.5 million to $2 million dollars.

"We're not growing enough student base to bring in the additional revenue to cover the personnel costs associated with building a new school," Roberts explained. "Now we were five years ago, three years ago, two years ago, but we're not now. We can't afford the people to man it.

"We can build it, we can equip it, we can split the teachers, but we can't do anything else."

Another financial hurdle faced by the district is raising the projected $65 million that would be needed to construct the school.

Given a high foreclosure rate, meaning less revenue generated by property taxes, accruing the money within the next three to four years (when construction is slated to begin) may no longer be feasible.

"My concern is, what if we're only able to raise $40 million in the next three years, and our population doesn't grow?" asked Roberts.

Building a new high school was one of three options the school board approved in an effort to alleviate what at the time looked like a future overcrowding issue.

Pahrump Valley High School, already exceeding its capacity with a population of 1,300 students, was looking at a projected growth to 1,600 students within the next three years. A second high school would have the capacity to house 1,200 students.

As an alternative, the superintendent suggested building a vocational and technical center at Pahrump Valley High School, which would cost significantly less at $10 to $20 million.