New math books on the way

Every student within the Carson City School District will have a new math book by the time school starts next year.

The district updates textbooks on a seven-year cycle and this year's subject is math.

With an allowance usually around $300,000 per year, the district updates the textbooks for secondary students one year, then for the elementary students the next year.

However, with this year's near $400,000 budget, Associate Superintendent Dorothy Todd said she will try to replace math textbooks in all grades.

Todd said the textbooks need to be replaced every seven years because although the subject does not change over the years, the method of approaching it does.

"There's new research all the time and better instructional techniques," she said. "Plus, technology is always advancing. We're choosing a book that will last our kids for seven years but we don't know what research is going to tell us in seven years."

The new textbooks are chosen by a committee of 25 teachers who meet once or twice a month to discuss the options.

"They review all the material that's out there," Todd said. "The committee reviews the material, goes back talks to staff members, then makes a recommendation to the state board of education."

The money allotted to buy the new core textbooks does not go to replace lost textbooks or buy supplemental books.

Each school must pay for its own replacements and supplemental material from the instructional budget.

In 1998, the district spent $300,000 to update the language arts and foreign language textbooks at the secondary level.

In 1999, $295,000 was spent to update secondary social studies, $56,000 went to science and math on the secondary level and music textbooks were purchased for the elementary schools for $62,400.

This year, the district has purchased $195,000 worth of social studies textbooks for the elementary schools and another $200,000 will be spent to update math textbooks.