School Board races set to bring change

What a difference a shifting School Board majority could make.

Four of seven seats are up for grabs in the Clark County School District, with only one incumbent, Terri Janison, seeking re-election.

Two of Superintendent Walt Rulffes' strongest policy supporters -- three-term incumbents Ruth Johnson and Mary Beth Scow -- will step down at the end of the year because a state Supreme Court decision on term limits bars their return to office.

Rulffes critic and incumbent board member Shirley Barber will also depart at the conclusion of her third term.

That leaves the door wide open to a shift in the balance of power, one that Rulffes will likely be the first to feel.

The four School Board members-elect who take the oath of office in January will make up the majority of those who will hand Rulffes his next performance review early next year. It's a potential bellwether for the direction, tone and priorities that will shape the new generation of leadership charged with oversight of the nation's fifth-largest public school system and its $2.1 billion budget.

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, Rulffes said his "focus will remain the same, which is to improve the number and quality of CCSD graduates" and to advocate for public education during the 2009 Legislative session.

One twist the elections may bring already is apparent to him. Three of his prospective new evaluators may be former district administrators or employees. Associate Superintendent Edward Goldman, 57, is squaring off with homemaker Deanna Wright, 37, for Scow's District A seat. Recently retired high school principal Ronan Matthew, 56, is running against Linda E. Young, the district's diversity director, for Barber's District C seat. Seeking to replace Johnson in District B are middle school teacher Ron Taylor and dental hygienist Chris Garvey.

Janison, who has been moderately critical of Rulffes, praised his successes but said more work needs to be done. Janison is being challenged by Metropolitan Police Department Officer John Schutt in District E.

Their future support for or opposition to Rulffes, who has launched several changes to improve student performance in the financially struggling district, will be key in determining the superintendent's future.

Named superintendent in 2006, Rulffes has served almost three years, which is the average tenure for those at the helm of large urban districts, according to the Council of Great City Schools. But without the backing of a board majority, Rulffes will lose the ability to make meaningful change.

During Rulffes' tenure so far, he has commonly received unanimous votes or 6-1 votes on issues of importance. But several candidates are criticizing the current direction of the district.

Because of the state budget crisis, hard choices must be made, Goldman said. For instance, the district should consider eliminating block schedules to save money, Goldman said. Block schedules allow for longer class periods at some district schools, which receive more funding than schools not on block schedules.

Matthew said a greater emphasis needs to be placed on teaching the core subjects to children in the primary grades. He said too many children are mislabeled as special education, which he called the "kiss of death."

Matthew and Taylor said the district has too many teachers who are not in classrooms because they are filling "special assignments' or bureaucratic roles during a time of teacher shortages. Taylor also said the district needs to do a better job of enforcing truancy laws.

Schutt believes the school board has lost direction and has become largely self-serving.

Janison, however, thinks that Schutt's comments show he doesn't understand the role of the school board.

In contrast to the criticism of other candidates, Janison praised the district administration for sharing more responsibility with employees, such as asking each school to determine how to trim their own budgets by 3.5 percent next year. That, she said, is much better than simply ordering across-the-board cuts.

But the candidates are also fending off the criticisms of special interests within the district and education advocacy groups.

Of the district employees or former employees up for election, only Young has been endorsed by the Clark County Education Association, which bargains for teachers, and Nevadans for Quality Education, an advocacy group.

NQE President Mary Jo Parise-Malloy said her members decided to go "with fresher faces" because "they're coming in unbiased. I don't see any hidden agendas."

Her organization and the teachers union have endorsed Wright, Garvey, Janison and Young.

Teachers union president Ruben Murillo said the education association did not endorse Matthew, a former principal, because "he's not a team player."

Murillo also called Taylor "radical" for wanting to decertify the union and void the current teachers contract.

The union's opposition to Goldman is rooted in his days as a tough contract negotiator on behalf of the district.

"We don't want to go back to the days of ruling by fear," Murillo said,

Goldman said Murillo was distorting his record. In the past, teacher salary negotiations often went to binding arbitration at the union's request. Goldman said the move provided political cover to union negotiators, who were afraid their membership would not be satisfied with the negotiated pay increases.

Goldman, Matthew and Taylor each pointed out that they had been endorsed by other unions and supported by individual teachers.

"My father was a tailor," said Matthew, who finds it ironic to be opposed by the teachers union. "I have working class views. They oppose me because I stand for change."

Martin D. Dupalo, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who lost a school board race two years ago, takes the opposite view of the teachers union and Nevadans for Quality Education.

Dupalo likes Goldman, Taylor and Matthew for their independence and willingness to buck the system.

If they were elected, "there would be a major shift on the board," Dupalo said.

Their presence on the board would bring greater transparency and accountability to the district.

Dupalo agrees with the criticism that current school board members, the teachers union, and district administrators have gotten "too cozy" over the years. It's a statement that Taylor has made frequently during his campaign. Taylor is fighting an expulsion from the teachers union and is contesting the validity of the current teachers contract before the Local Government Local Employees Management Relations Board.

Dupalo said he does not agree with Goldman and Taylor on everything, but he appreciates their expertise and knowledge of the system. He said their answers to campaign questions were much more lucid and substantive than the answers given by candidates Wright and Garvey.

Expertise matters, Dupalo said, when it comes to running a $2.1 billion corporation.

In her campaign, Garvey criticizes Taylor as too "divisive" while calling herself a coalition builder. Wright characterizes herself as the outsider who can bring a new perspective to the board.

Goldman and Taylor both said their opponents don't measure up to their experience and credentials.

Noting that Wright likes to call herself a Parent Teacher Association mom, Goldman said he has been a "PTA dad" too.

Taylor is glad that Garvey is calling attention to herself as a mom in their race, which draws comparisons to the Republican presidential duo of John McCain and Sarah Palin, who often describes herself as a hockey mom.

"I think the public is tired of hearing about PTA moms," Taylor said. "People can see through it."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-799-2922.