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Beatty Schools Minus Important Program When Music Teacher Retires

Beatty Middle School
beattynv.info

Rural schools like this one in Beatty face a shrinking population and lack of funding.

The Nye County School District recently posted a new job opening - for a music teacher in Beatty Schools.

Long-time music teacher Dale Lerbakken is retiring this year after nearly 25 years with the school.

In a school that has a total of about 200 students K-12, Lerbakken was responsible for the music instruction of the entire school. Replacing him will be no easy task, according to principal Gary Flood, and the district may face a difficult recruiting process.

Population and funding issues facing Nevada schools usually makes one think of the overcrowded classrooms in Clark County.

But rural Nevadans face a different problem - empty classrooms. Although there are more than 50,000 students spread throughout rural Nevada, those numbers are dwarfed by that of Clark and Washoe counties.

With dwindling populations in these rural areas, it's possible that eventually numbers may not allow school districts to hire replacement teachers.

 

 

 

   

Gary Flood, principal, Beatty Schools

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Prior to taking on the role of Broadcast Operations Manager in January 2021, Rachel was the senior producer of KNPR's State of Nevada program for 6 years. She helped compile newscasts and provided coverage for and about the people of Southern Nevada, as well as major events such as the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas strip, protests of racial injustice, elections and more. Rachel graduated with a bachelor's degree of journalism and mass communications from New Mexico State University.