The Nye County School District trustees will meet at 6:30 p.m., May 20 and will conduct a public hearing on the tentative school budget for 2009-2010 at 7 p.m.

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Ray Ritchie will present the budget in detail and explain items in the general fund, projected expenditures and revenue streams.

After multiple workshop meetings, the last of which was May 15, the budget committee, led by Nye County School Superintendent Rob Roberts and composed of school district administrators, principals and board trustees who called for input from all department heads, the budget is still officially called "tentative."

The tentative school budget was filed in April, reflecting the funds allocated to the school district in Gov. Jim Gibbons' state budget. If the state legislature approves Gibbons' spending plan -- which Roberts says is doubtful -- deep cuts will have to be made in all areas, including personnel.

Reduction-in-force notifications, or RIF letters, were recently sent to all school personnel in anticipation of the need to reduce the number of employees throughout the school district.

In Pahrump, 15 positions in district, middle school and high school administration were eliminated, including four elementary school counselors, one high school counselor and four high school teachers, for a total savings in salaries and benefits of $1.1 million.

A total of 43 elementary school teachers' positions were eliminated at a savings of $2.8 million along with five elementary school specialties teachers, nine middle school teachers, three exploratory middle school teachers, seven custodians, one person in transportation and one grant writer.

The position of principal in the Gabbs K-12 school was also eliminated.

In total, $9,396,744 in salaries and benefits were eliminated, including salary reductions.

However, last week, Nye County schools were tentatively allotted approximately $2 million in additional funds by the state legislators. But according to Roberts, Gibbons does not plan to approve the increase.

Several school trustees at the May 15 budget meeting put forward plans to bring back into the mix as many elementary teachers as possible whose jobs were eliminated in the tentative budget, just in case the $2 million materializes.

The school district was mandated by law to submit a tentative budget April 15, using the figures from the governor's budget.

Public support for teachers is widespread, as witnessed in street corner protests in several areas of Pahrump. Roberts has asked parents and all residents of the county to contact elected officials for the benefit of students, who could be affected by larger classes and fewer teachers.