CCSD trustees reject performance compacts

The Clark County School Board rejected a proposal to enter into performance compacts with the state Department of Education on Thursday night, an option that would spare underperforming schools from being converted into charter schools.

The compacts were another alternative to the controversial Achievement School District, which pairs underperforming schools with charter operators.

The compacts would have provided certain intervention plans to improve student achievement. Schools that enter into a compact and meet targets would be exempt from consideration into the achievement district.

The 5-0 board vote came after a number of principals voiced concern about the compacts, arguing that their schools were making great strides through the district’s Turnaround Zone.

“We don’t need someone slowing our stride with new demands for reporting and monitoring,” said Pamela Hays, principal at Priest Elementary School. “We do not need someone else giving us performance ratings.”

The rejection came despite a letter that state Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero sent to the board encouraging them to adopt the compacts.

“We must agree to work together and partner to bring the entirety of our skill and resources to bear in order to ensure that all children have the opportunities in life that an excellent education affords,” Canavero wrote.

But principals of those schools originally eligible for charter conversion voiced opposition to the compacts, as did trustees.

“You have my promise as a trustee that I will never support this,” Trustee Chris Garvey told administrators in the crowd. “Because I think you guys are working so hard and your hearts are in the right places, and we need to continue to support you.”

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.