Clark County School Board taps the brakes on breakup plan

Depending who you ask, reorganizing the Clark County School District is an exercise in reading the writing on the wall or putting the cart before the horse.

State lawmakers, city officials, the local teachers union, principals and — to a large degree — parents seem united in favor of a plan to strip power away from central administration and grant school communities more control over academic, budget and staffing decisions. The sooner that plan goes into place, the better, according to many of those impacted.

The Clark County School Board, meanwhile, has the most to lose under the plan — namely, control of about 350 campuses — and made its position quite clear Wednesday with a unanimous vote that essentially told everyone to take a breather.

“There are significant educational, financial and legal issues that must be addressed prior to the proposed plan being finalized and implemented,” reads a position the board passed 7-0.

“And be it further resolved that the board’s paramount concerns are for the improvement of all students in the (district) and in equity and access to a high-quality education for all (district) students,” the position adds. “Therefore, there must be assurances that the proposed plan will not result in substantial disruption to students within the district.”

ON THE DEFENSE

Over the last week, lawmakers have criticized the board for preventing Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky from attending a series of town halls meant to gather public feedback on the reorganization. If approved, the proposal would overhaul the district before August 2017.

Board members explained they simply did not want Skorkowsky to appear at the forums until they took a formal position on the plan.

Skorkowsky, though, has spent months sitting on a technical advisory committee to develop that plan. And five of the seven trustees in October gave their blessing to a preliminary proposal from Skorkowsky that would have protected most of the board’s power.

“It was premature for us to have any kind of official comment because there wasn’t anything to comment on,” District A Trustee Deanna Wright said of the eventual plan that a panel of lawmakers approved July 1.

The State Board of Education is scheduled to consider the plan and necessary regulations to implement it at its Sept. 1 meeting.

That deadline prompted District G Trustee Erin Cranor to question whether there’s enough time to address many concerns that still surround the plan. Specifically, trustees worried it could result in the outsourcing of support staff jobs and leave a decentralized administration vulnerable to defending the district in lawsuits.

“We’re noticing things that either were missed or were dismissed. That’s what it feels like,” said Cranor, who rejected characterizations of the trustees as obstructionists.

STAY THE COURSE

The board’s concerns reflected that of some teachers and support staff, who in general like the idea of the reorganization but want details of how it will impact their workload and freedom to serve their students better.

Retiring Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, R-Henderson, was the only member of the panel in charge of approving a final plan in attendance at Wednesday’s board meeting.

He acknowledged the trustees raised valid questions but insisted lawmakers stay the course.

“It’s necessary to act as quickly as we can,” Stewart said. “The longer we put things out, the less chance we have of implementing anything.”

Stephen Augspurger, the head of the school administrators union, went a step further and criticized the board for registering their concerns at what he described as the “latest hour.”

“I’m dismayed — to say the least — that this process has been going since October, (but) we have not heard if trustees have opposition,” Augspurger said.

“You unfortunately — and I say this with all due respect — have chosen to remain on the sidelines,” he added. “Your input was valuable. You didn’t come forward with it.”

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