CCSD Moves Forward With Later School Start Times, Works to Place Hundreds of Teachers After Budget Cuts

Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert marked her first year leading the nation's fifth-largest school district Thursday, outlining progress on school start times, staffing challenges, student safety, and the district's fiscal outlook heading into the 2026-2027 school year.

To support the upcoming schedule shift, CCSD is adding 26 buses and hiring 51 new drivers. The transition carries a one-time cost of $5.6 million, funded through bond reserves, and an ongoing annual cost of approximately $5.1 million for staffing and bus maintenance.

"We were the only school district in the nation that had a 7 a.m. start time, expecting our children to be in their seats, ready to learn at 7 a.m. There's nowhere else in the nation that anyone does that," Ebert said. "I feel blessed that I get to lean in on the work that other school districts have completed before we implement here in Southern Nevada," she said.

As of late April, approximately 200 teachers had not yet been placed in a position for the upcoming school year, down from more than 700 licensed educators identified as surplus in February. Ebert said the district is "shooting for 100 percent" placement ahead of the August school year.

In February, CCSD announced roughly $50 million in budget cuts tied to a projected enrollment decline, identifying approximately 1,200 positions — including 682 licensed employees, 500 support staff, and 64 administrators — for surplus.

On student safety, Ebert highlighted two pieces of legislation CCSD supported this session: a law permitting stop-arm cameras on school buses and a School Zone Bill. The School Zone Bill allows cities and counties to modify school zone boundaries, adjust flasher times, and double fines for traffic violations in those areas.

"If we could have what we want, what would we have? What do we need to do differently to support our children and our families going to and from school? So [we] started with a list," Ebert said. "That report will come out here shortly with the rest of the body of work that they've been looking at, to continue working together to make sure that, going to and from school, that our children are safe and that drivers slow down, people are concentrating, obeying the law when they're in and around our school buildings," she said.

The district also paused a vendor award process for stop-arm camera installation in late February, citing concerns over hidden implementation costs experienced by other districts nationwide.