Clark County School Board OKs outside donations for superintendent hunt

The Clark County School Board narrowly approved a proposal Friday to accept outside donations to help pay the cost of finding the next leader of the Clark County School District.

The decision allows the district to accept money from community groups to help pay for a search firm, which will look nationally for the next superintendent. So far, trustees have been told that the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Rogers Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes education and the arts, have offered to donate.

In the midst of a budget deficit, such offers could save the district from deeper budget cuts. In 2010, the search for Superintendent Dwight Jones cost $47,485, according to district records.

Trustees Kevin Child, Chris Garvey and Linda Young, who came up on the short end of the 4-3 vote, said they were worried that such donations could improperly influence the decision.

“I’m a little nervous about taking other people’s money because once you take their money, then they expect things,” Young said in the work session. “They say they don’t, but they do.”

Child also argued that hiring the superintendent is the district’s business.

“I know we’re in a budget crunch,” he said. “But this is very important, and that way it keeps (the process) very pure.”

Trustee Carolyn Edwards countered that the board has withstood outside pressure before.

“I think outside money is going to be given in small enough amounts that they’re not going to have any serious expectation of influence,” Edwards said. “And we can resist influence, frankly.”

In approving the donations, the board said it will require the donor and the exact amount to be made public. Donors may also have to sign a document acknowledging that the money will not buy them any influence in the selection process.

Sylvia Lazos of Educate Nevada Now, which is run through the Rogers Foundation, said that the amount would be smaller than the donations the foundation typically gives the district.

“Everyone involved in the foundation, we have zero expectation of influence,” Lazos told the board.

Paul Moradkhan, the vice president of government affairs for the Metro Chamber of Commerce, similarly said his group was not expecting anything in return.

The chamber’s members hire over 230,000 people in Southern Nevada, many of whom are Clark County School District graduates. As a result, the chamber has a vested interest in finding the best applicant for the superintendent position, Moradkhan explained.

The chamber has not set an amount it would be willing to give the district, Moradkhan said.

The cost of the search is still unknown. The board voted to begin constructing a request for proposals document that will outline a clear process for choosing Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky’s successor.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4630. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.