VICTOR JOECKS: Why Lombardo’s education plan will fail

It’s good to be the king, but it’s better to be the power behind the throne. Just look at how Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita manipulates Nevada’s education system.

Gov. Joe Lombardo and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro agreed on a far-reaching education plan before the legislative session ended. Parts of Lombardo’s bill were amended into Senate Bill 460. Despite the rampant self-promotion, don’t expect many results.

Dig into a provision that allows state officials to take over failing schools. If a district struggles for long enough, the state superintendent can eventually put it into a de facto receivership and run the show.

Now, that is a real consequence. But there’s a problem: Accountability without authority doesn’t work.

The most important school-controlled factor in student achievement is teacher quality. But Nevada’s collective bargaining law gives unions outsized influence in district spending and policy decisions. New Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert can’t simply implement the plan she thinks is best. In many cases, the Clark County Education Association has to sign off on it.

The problem should be obvious. Often the policy that’s best for students doesn’t align with the union’s priorities. Either district officials need to be able to ignore CCEA, or the union needs to be held accountable, too.

Instead, Lombardo went in the opposite direction. Last week, he signed Senate Bill 161. It legalizes rolling teacher sickouts at individual schools during contract negotiations. It also allows teacher unions to call for a strike without the risk of decertification.

Think back two years ago. The CCEA and Vellardita didn’t like that then-Superintendent Jesus Jara didn’t give in to their inflated contract demands. Several schools closed when their teachers called in sick. The district went to court and received an injunction. The sickouts stopped. School resumed. Negotiations continued, and the union eventually prevailed. Evidence later emerged that the union promoted “selective sickouts” to its members.

Teacher strikes leverage short-term public pain to win long-term gains for a few. That’s why those sickouts were illegal. Public employees shouldn’t be holding the taxpayers hostage.

Here’s where this is going. This summer, expect CCEA to demand a significant pay hike. The education bill also eliminated the school district reorganization. The union will probably seek access to the money principals previously controlled.

Ebert faces a lose-lose situation. She could sign off on unsustainable pay hikes, perhaps dipping into the district’s ending fund balance and repurposing reorganization dollars. But that won’t improve student achievement, setting up a state takeover.

Or she could stand up to the union and watch schools shut down throughout the district as teachers stage sickouts. The public will be ticked. Students will learn less. That won’t improve student achievement either, setting up a state takeover.

In either scenario, the public’s attention won’t be on the person pulling the strings — Vellardita.

Lombardo has all the appearances of being the top piece on the board. But like many before him, Lombardo acted like Vellardita’s pawn. And the children stuck in Nevada’s failing education system will suffer until that dynamic changes.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X