Presence of new state education chief sends undeniable message

James Guthrie, the state's new superintendent of public instruction, sure talks a good game.

From the sounds of things, he plans to take a very light approach to the state's two largest school districts.

During a recent interview aired on KNPR's "State of Nevada," then-finalist Guthrie gushed about the high caliber of the superintendents currently serving Clark and Washoe counties. Guthrie was so positive, in fact, that you would almost think those school districts didn't suffer from high dropout rates and low test scores.

Guthrie, a senior fellow and director of Education Policy Studies at the George W. Bush Institute, told host Luis Hernandez that Clark County Superintendent Dwight Jones and Washoe County Superintendent Heath Morrison are so dynamic that "one of the first things I'd do is simply get out of their way. They are making changes all in the right directions, and I want nothing more than to encourage them."

At 75, a time many professionals are working on their golf games, Guthrie assured skeptics he's up for the Silver State's public education challenges.

"Nevada is a relatively unknown place of great hope," he said. "The education system there is, although not many people know it, is perched on the lip of giant success. ... Nevada is a success story just about to be written. And I want to be one of the authors."

He sounds like he's in it for the long haul. We'll see. His presence on the scene sends an undeniable message to school officials who imagine a time when the public system is funded at a higher level. Guthrie is not their guy.

How hard core is he?

In 2010, he co-authored an article titled "The Phony Funding Crisis" on the Educationnext website in which he attempted to counter the argument that financial cuts to education were necessarily a bad thing.

With co-author Arthur Peng, Guthrie wrote, "Chicken Little is alive and seemingly employed as a finance analyst or reporter for an education interest group. If one relies on newspaper headlines for education funding information, one might conclude that America's schools suffer from a perpetual fiscal crisis, every year perched precariously on the brink of financial ruin, never knowing whether there will be sufficient funding to continue operating. Budgetary shortfalls, school district bankruptcies, teacher and administrator layoffs, hiring and salary freezes ... and other tales of fiscal woe inevitably captivate the news media, particularly during the late-spring and summer budget and appropriations seasons.

"Yet somehow, as the budget-planning cycle concludes and schools open their doors in the late summer and fall, virtually all classrooms have instructors, teachers receive their paychecks and use their health plans, athletic teams play, and textbooks are distributed."

Guthrie's conservative approach to education funding obviously has been embraced by Gov. Brian Sandoval and has drawn praise from the equally conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute. NPRI's Vice President for Policy Steven Miller enthused in a news release, "Such courage is desperately needed in a state where vested interests insist that superior educational results won't come without ever-higher funding."

That's not everyone's definition of courage, but Guthrie's appointment has left those who dream of increased funding for public education in Nevada staring at their shoes.

JUDICIAL CUTUP: The Alexander Dawson School annually proves it's focused on helping kids with cancer through its own St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraisers. Now local Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson is throwing her hat -- and perhaps her hair -- into the ring for a good cause.

The judge's son, Luke Tobiasson, is a Dawson fifth- grader involved in Thursday's annual shaving event. He has surpassed his personal $1,000 fundraising goal, but if he can raise $10,000, his mom promises she will shave her head in celebration.

Judge Chrome Dome?

It has a nice ring to it

To contribute, go to stbaldricks.org.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Smith