September 12, 2010

Chef Heinz Lauer1451 Center Crossing Rd.Las Vegas, NV 89144

Dear Chef Lauer,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Las Vegas Charter School of the Deaf (LVCSD) to ask for your support with some challenges that we are facing this year.

First a bit of background, the LVCSD has been open since the fall of 2008. The concept of the school and the planning for implementation has taken 10 years! Finally we opened and our dream was realized. LVCSD is the only school in the state of Nevada that serves Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in a setting that teaches using a Bi-Lingual/Bi-Cultural approach to education. This concept is not new to those of us in the field of deafness, but to the general public, usually when the term is used it is thought of in terms of Spanish and English. In our case, the children are taught in their first and native language which is American Sign Language and English is taught as a second language. In addition, the children are exposed to cultural instruction in the Deaf culture and Hearing culture in which they live. This method of instruction has been proven to be the most effective for educating Deaf children and giving them a strong foundational language from which their education can be built. During the 3 years our school has operated, we have relocated 3 times. Nevertheless, the school still grows. During the first year we had 3 children, 5 the second year and this year we have 10 with 4 more waiting for transportation and 3 waiting for us to begin our Pre-Kindergarten program. This is very exciting for us. We are chartered with the state of Nevada Department of Education and have the Clark County School District as our sponsor. We have been in full compliance with all the mandates of the state and are very proud of our accomplishments thus far.

Despite our many successes, we do have major issues that hinge on our funding source. The state of Nevada pays the school $5,035 per child attending school on September 24. That is “count day” for the schools and based on the “head count” on that day, the state then determines how much the school will receive for that next year, even if you add more students after September 24 you only get funded for those counted on September 24. We receive those funds paid to us on a quarterly basis but we will not receive any money until November! Meanwhile, we have a school to run! We also get some federal dollars but not until much later as that count day is in October. Last summer we moved (hopefully for the last time) to our present location at: Northshore Learning Tree; 7901 W. Gowan Road; Las Vegas, NV 89129. It is an excellent facility and we hope this will be our permanent home! One of the reasons that our school has faced growth issues is transportation. Without it, many parents cannot send their Deaf children to our school despite their desire to give their Deaf child the best possible education. We had a donor who gave us a van, and then we learned that the state regulations had changed and that the state does not allow vans to be used for transporting children. We have since found a mini-bus that meets our needs and is offered for sale for $11,500.00.

We have prioritized our most pressing needs, and provided a brief description as needed, in the hopes that your group will consider assisting us with them.

1. Mini –Bus -Deaf children reside throughout Clark County. Therefore, we attract students from a wide distance (unlike other schools where the children usually attend a school near to their homes). Due to the fact that we do not have transportation at this time, we have Deaf 4 children who cannot attend school and are waiting until we obtain the bus to begin. If they are not in school by September 24 (head count day) we will lose funding for these children.

o Purchase price $11,500.00o Taxes (sales tax is waived due to our tax exempt status)o DMV Registration Fee:o Insurance: $3,000.00 per yearo Gasoline$125.00 per montho Maintenance and repairso Driver salary @ $12.00 per hour for 20 hours a week

2. Payroll - for the full staff is $7,000.00 per montho Directoro Administrative Secretaryo Teachers (2)o Teacher’s Aide (1)o Additional Teacher’s Aide @ $12.00 per hour for 15 hours per week (if we

add those 4 Deaf children who are waiting for transportation, we will need to hire this aide.)

3. SmartBoards o 3 boards at $1,500.00 each

4. Educational Network Websiteo Annual fee - $3,600.00 per year

5. Furniture o Student Desk/Chairs @ $150.00 each – 10 needed

6. School Maintenance Service o $125.00 per month

Because we depend on state and federal dollars to pay the student’s educational expenses and we do not get this money until close to the end of the year, it puts a burden on our funds to pay our normal expenses. We are constantly seeking donor support, foundations and grants to help our program. Without these, our school could not successfully operate depending only on state and federal dollars. We appreciate your consideration of our needs and look forward to hearing from you soon.If you would like to visit our school and meet our staff and students, please contact the Director, Cathy Bennett at 702-726-9155 for an appointment.

Thank you for your support. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Elaine B. HainesGoverning Board President

clb/wj