While the state legislature has given Clark County some special funding to serve students with limited proficiency in English, Ms. Peterson acknowledges that the state has no programs specifically geared toward urban schools. The only district that is not countywide serves Carson City, the state capital. Many of the counties cover a wide territory. Clark County encompasses more than 50 square miles. That territory includes varied demographic terrain.
Educators view the district's size and diversity as an advantage.
Our diversity gives us the opportunity to look at different kinds of schools across the board, gets us out of the track of thinking we're going to spend all our time fighting the elements. Ms. Mathis and Ms. Jackson also say that the district's size and breadth give them access to a support system that did not exist in other places they have worked. We get a lot of help from the district. We don't have to go outside the district for staff development on a particular topic. Legislation that would allow new districts to be created by referendum has been rejected several times by the legislature, which held a hearing on such a proposal last year.