HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Teachers, parents and children rally in front of the Pahrump Nugget in support of children and against deep cuts proposed in Nye County School District's proposed budget eliminating elementary school teachers. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Elementary school teachers Esther Englund, left, and Laura Weir speak with Nye County School Superintendent Rob Roberts, who stopped to say hello to all the teachers. RELATED STORIES • Helping out takes different forms • How to contact your legislators Advertisement

Teachers waved handmade signs -- some proclaiming "Let your opinion be heard" -- at passing cars on the busiest crossroads in town Monday during the after-work rush.

They and supporters were protesting proposed personnel cuts school administrators say are necessary to meet Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget.

The teachers were joined by parents and children as they gathered at the junction of Highways 160 and 372, lining the pavement on Highway 160 in front of the Pahrump Nugget.

The idea for the grassroots rally began with a group of teachers at Hafen Elementary School and spread from school to school in a scant two days. The educators took to the streets to garner public support, saying they need not only parents but everyone concerned with the future of Pahrump and Nye County to contact the governor's office and other elected officials.

"We need community support," said Wendy Weeks, a third-grade teacher at Floyd Elementary School who braved the sun, heat and exhaust fumes on the busy stretch of highway. "School administrators plan to cut about 48 elementary teachers. We already have 30 kids per class. We won't be able to spend individual time with kids the way we do now.

"The kids are the future. Even if you don't have children, they are the ones who are going to take care of us when we get old."

Shew added that the the last budget workshop is at 1 p.m. Friday. "I can't go because I'll be teaching, but we need to get parents involved," Weeks said. "This will affect elementary school kids the most. It's going to hurt them when they get to high school, and later, it will hurt the whole country."

Nye County School District Superintendent Rob Roberts said he didn't know about the rally until he drove by. He stopped to talk to the protesters and listen to their concerns.

"Every choice we made to comply with the budget was difficult," Roberts said, adding, "We welcome the community's input and encourage people to contact the governor's office and all their elected officials."

Laura Weir teaches fourth grade at Mt. Charleston Elementary School. In her opinion, "There are a lot of other cuts they could have made first so less classroom cuts are made."

Ten-year-old Chris Galdi joined his mom at the sidewalk rally. "I'm here trying to help our schools," he said. "That's why we all came out here. We don't think it's right to cut teachers and have more kids in the classrooms. I think it's wrong."

Valerie Elmore said, "I'm a mom and I'm here for my children. Bigger class size means less attention for each child. Being a teacher isn't the highest paying job but they make the sacrifice because they love to teach children."

Special education teacher Garth Oakey from Hafen Elementary felt out of his element at the rally but said it was important to spread the word. "They have kept us in the dark about what's happening," he said. "Now they are saying 9 teachers plus 3 specialists and a counselor will be cut. That's 12 people the children can't afford to lose.

Cynthia Benton teaches second grade at Hafen and is the intervention chairman. "This affects everyone," she said. "If people want Pahrump to grow and continue to bring in good families, we must have a quality school system. When young families look for a place to live, they check out the schools.

"Parents are likely to think, 'How can a teacher possibly teach my little Johnny to read with 35 children in the classroom?' With more children in classrooms, there will be no individual access to teachers. There is no way a teacher can work one-on-one with a student. That is just wrong.

"I am a mother of four children, now grown. One of my children had a learning disability and got lost in the system because of overcrowding. That's wrong.

"Nevada wants to bring in industry and people," Benton continued. "Where are they going to get the workers and people to run the operations? My students have such potential but they do even better when they are given individual attention. The district office is hiding their heads in the sand as to what we need."

Hafen first-grade teacher Alice Johnson agreed. "Dr. Roberts has been in Carson City working for us and we know he supports us, but more has to be done. We're here so parents know we need help. I am worried about the kids. What is going to happen to them? I have some kids who are exceptional.

"Three kids I'm teaching came into my classroom without even knowing the sounds of their letters, but now they are reading above their grade level. They are awesome kids, but they needed individual attention."

Johnson and Benton spoke about the fact that teachers are sometimes the only consistent people in children's lives. "It's not just children from broken homes, but now one parent may be working in a different state just to have a job, or one of their parents may be in jail," said Benton.

"I have kids in middle school who come back to talk to me," she continued. "That is the same with a lot of other teachers. You are taking that away from kids by making classes so large. It's not like teachers quit at 3:30 and go home. Most of us stay at schools far beyond quitting time."