Clark County school trustees refuse to rank campuses for charter conversion

In yet another lengthy discussion over the controversial Achievement School District, the Clark County School Board rejected the state Board of Education’s request to rank the nine district schools in the order they should be converted to charters.

District G Trustee Erin Cranor said it was “inappropriate” to ask the board to rank the schools to be subjected to the “experiment” the state is undertaking.

“I respectfully decline the invitation of the state board to place schools on a ranking,” Cranor said. Many trustees echoed similar sentiments during the meeting Thursday, which drew a standing-room-only crowd that required an overflow room.

The request was presented to the board by Jana Wilcox Lavin, superintendent of the Nevada Achievement School District, on behalf of the state Board of Education. The state board wanted the local board’s input on which of the nine schools would benefit the most from pairing with a charter , but the board declined to do so .

With concerns over picking schools, the Clark County School Board is asking the Legislative Commission to postpone adopting rules, wanting more clarification over who is responsible for the physical buildings when public schools are converted to charters.

The rules are slated to be discussed and adopted at a Dec. 21 meeting, but a letter from Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky on behalf of the Board of Trustees sent to Gov. Brian Sandoval is asking to hold off on that until the new year, when Skorkowsky said the school district will be able to clarify the concerns and present the responses to the trustees.

The concern over the rules won’t affect the timeline for choosing schools for the program, but the trustees, school staff and community spent a long time discussing the merits of the way the schools were chosen.

Last month, nine Clark County schools were listed as possible options to become Achievement Schools. Next week, the state board will approve at least half of those schools as contenders, and then the Achievement district staff will select a maximum of six.

Trustees said they would rather see the schools have more time to continue innovative practices have been put in place in the past couple of years.

“They’re not given a chance. They’re building,” District C Trustee Linda Young, the board president, said of the schools. “We’re encouraging them, and parents are encouraging them. These opportunities are being snatched from the parents and the communities.”

Some trustees also said the program seems to be targeting “black and brown communities” and taking away their right to choose their school.

“I think our black and brown communities feel targeted,” District F Trustee Carolyn Edwards said.

Principals at the schools spoke about the work they’re doing to help better the schools, with many agreeing they would rather stay the course they’re on right now.

District B Trustee Chris Garvey said the Achievement School District isn’t looking at the big picture for these schools.

“I’m really kind of wondering why you would want to take out schools that have innovative processes put in place,” Garvey said. “We’re seeing turnaround in them and achievement. Some of that’s really new. That’s confusing to me.”

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.