LETTERS: Apologists dodge chancellor’s troubling issues

Apologists Michael Yackira and Elaine Wynn shoot the messengers — reporter Bethany Barnes and the Review-Journal editorial page staff — for not fairly representing Chancellor Dan Klaich and the work he has done for the Nevada System of Higher Education ("NSHE's Klaich deserves praise for efforts," July 26 Review-Journal). But the op-ed by Mr. Yackira and Ms. Wynn didn't provide any information relevant to specific issues such as: Mr. Klaich contracting a counter report to the SRI International report; the Mario Martinez funding formula and Lincy Institute actions; alleged plagiarism of intellectual property of the Brookings Institute; the hiring of Catherine Cortez Masto in apparent violation of NSHE's Equal Employment Opportunity and affirmative action hiring policies; and the actions to secure budgetary support for the medical school in Southern Nevada.

Instead, Mr. Yackira and Ms. Wynn misdirect attention to generalities regarding their support of the chancellor and his management style. While they advocate a hierarchical structure for NSHE, one would hope that in an academic setting the goal would be to manage in a collegial manner. With time, the former can devolve into a "my way or the highway" style of management, with little room for divergent opinions.

Mr. Yackira and Ms. Wynn cite their experience with Mr. Klaich in stating that the chancellor works hard to include stakeholders and considers all relevant information in making decisions. But that seems to contradict their questioning whether Mr. Klaich should bring differing positions or thoughts on an issue to the Board of Regents, which is his employer and the largest stakeholder in these issues. The writers also seem to ignore that this "thankless job" provides the chancellor with an annual total compensation in excess of $370,000.

Finally, shouldn't the note at the end of the article have included full disclosure that between 2011 and 2013, Mr. Yackira's wife, Renee Yackira, was NSHE's executive director for government relations and then vice chancellor for administration and operations?

Tom O'Farrell

Boulder City

Sad state of education

I recently became a resident of this wonderful state and Clark County, and I am deeply troubled by the current educational crisis. At a time when the Clark County School District is desperately trying to attract new teachers, current salaries were frozen for the year. New teachers are being offered a $5,000 signing bonus to work at an at-risk school for a starting salary that ranks close to the bottom nationally.

In essence, we are telling potential teachers that we really want to hire you, but once we do, we are going to exploit you until you burn out. Education is merely another budget item, and the people affected by short-term political expediency don't really matter.

Additionally, the criteria for obtaining a Nevada teacher's license are restrictive to the point of lunacy. I have no problem with potential teachers undergoing a thorough background check and receiving passing grades on the PRAXIS tests to assess candidate competency. What is problematic and even dysfunctional is the requirement that anyone who does not have a degree specifically in education be required to enroll in a six-week course (at the individual's expense) to even be considered for a position.

I have 20 years of teaching experience at the university level and served 11 years on the national test development committee for advanced placement of high school students into college. I am willing to work in schools with disadvantaged students. I am not concerned about the low salaries and have a strong desire to contribute to the community. Yet my experience counts for nothing in the Nevada teacher licensure process or within the Clark County School District.

I wonder how many other experienced college educators look for other employment options when told they must pay for classes they don't need just for the chance at a position where they will be subsequently underpaid and overworked. I can only conclude that the current teacher crisis is the product of decisions made by clueless politicians, exacerbated by an inflexible administrative bureaucracy. Sadly, neither is an easy fix.

Ron Balsamo

Henderson