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Tensions flare during town hall meeting on Clark County School District reorganization

Sparks flew between a Clark County School Board member and a top Republican lawmaker in the closing moments of a town hall meeting Thursday to gather feedback on a plan to reorganize Nevada’s largest school district.

Throughout the two-hour meeting, held at the Henderson Convention Center, parents and school staff overwhelmingly expressed praise for the plan that will allow principals in the Clark County School District to have more control over academic, budget and staffing decisions at their schools.

Other members of the audience, which easily topped 100, criticized the reorganization as a threat to support staff jobs and services for diverse student populations.

The real tension, however, arose when District A Trustee Deanna Wright asked state Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, who chairs a legislative panel charged with approving a final plan by Jan. 1, to stop criticizing the district for its chronic teacher shortage.

She highlighted estimates that, as of last week, recruiters had just 370 open teaching positions to fill compared to more than 1,000 in last July.

“We are now looking to probably fill almost every vacancy we have, and we are due a little respect for the steps we have made,” Wright said.

“The School Board had very little to do with that,” Roberson responded.

“The fact is, the Legislature decided we needed to do something about the school district, in large part because of the failure of the School Board,” Roberson added. “That is the reality.”

Later, Roberson told the audience that trustees prevented Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, who serves on a committee to help craft the reorganization plan, from even appearing at Thursday’s meeting.

“The School Board, who’s opposed to any change to the status quo, directed him not to be here, and I think that is outrageous,” Roberson said to applause. “And that is why we need to reform the school district.”

For her part, Wright said trustees asked Skorkowsky not to attend the meeting because the full board has not yet taken a stance on the reorganization plan.

The plan, if approved, would strip most power away from the central administration and trustees in order to grant more autonomy to parents, principals and staff at each school.

“We are not in opposition to the plan. We haven’t had a chance as a board to talk about it,” Wright said.

She noted attorneys for the district advised trustees to avoid making any statement about the reorganization plan until this point in its development.

“We have done that,” Wright said. “We have been respectful, we have been supportive, and (Roberson’s) comments are completely unfounded.

“He’s got sour grapes and he’s power playing.”

On Wednesday, the board will hold a work session to finally weigh in on the reorganization plan. Wright promised “an interesting conversation.”

Meanwhile, the Clark County Commission will hold seven additional meetings between Monday and Aug. 10 to gather community input on the reorganization plan before the State Board of Education votes Sept. 1 on regulations to set it in place.

The plan, which supporters argue would increase student achievement and cut costs, would go into effect in time for the 2017-18 school year.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Follow @nealtmorton on Twitter.

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