School officials look for help from visitor

Clark County School District officials who might lose out on substantial federal grants for school innovation are hoping for help from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who is in Las Vegas today.

Duncan, accompanied by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be at Harmon Elementary School to tout a new competitive grant program for schools serving large populations of low-income students.

But Clark County School Board members are worried about another competitive grant program, the Race to the Top fund. It's a $5 billion pool of federal incentive money intended to encourage innovation in public education.

Nevada school districts are ineligible to apply for the grant. A state law prohibiting student achievement data, such as standardized test scores, from being used to evaluate teacher performance violates the federal program's guidelines.

On Thursday, School Board members will consider a resolution seeking a waiver of the federal guidelines so the district can apply for the Race to the Top grants.

School Board members are "trying to send a signal to Mr. Duncan," said Joyce Haldeman, associate superintendent for government affairs and community affairs. "Our hands are pretty well tied."

School Board President Terri Janison said she plans to personally lobby Duncan today.

"We want him to know that we want to take advantage of every opportunity," Janison said.

The School Board's action on the resolution was scheduled one day before the Friday deadline for public comment on the Race to the Top grant competition.

The proposed resolution cites the district's "critical" need for "additional funding." The district made $120 million in program cuts this year because of the state's financial crisis.

The resolution also notes the district's competitive disadvantages in applying for the grants, including its lack of authority to change state law. It also emphasizes that the Nevada Legislature meets once every two years.

The next legislative session is in 2011. The deadline for the first round of Race to the Top grants is in December.

The resolution pledges that the district will work with state lawmakers to "revise all statutes necessary" at the earliest opportunity to ensure compliance with the grant requirements.

School Board member Carolyn Edwards said Nevada easily would fall into compliance if it simply removed the section of state statute 386.650 that states schools' assessment data "must not be used for the purpose of evaluating an individual teacher or paraprofessional."

Teacher advocates were not supportive of the School Board's resolution.

"We don't support changing the statutes for one-time, one-shot money," said Lynn Warne, the president of the Nevada State Education Association, which lobbies for the rights and economic security of teachers.

Warne said President Barack Obama's administration is manipulating the states into changing their laws.

"It's a very top-down approach," she said.

Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association, the local teachers' union, said the School Board was going after a "dangling carrot" with no guarantee the district would get it.

Nevada is one of four states that have such a rule regarding teacher evaluations. The other states are California, New York and Wisconsin,

Warne said a test score is just "one snapshot in time." The law also is a recognition that teachers have students with varying degrees of ability.

Edwards does not expect change to happen overnight. She suggested that teacher unions could bargain for protections against certain kinds of professional evaluations.

She also said that the Clark County Education Association already has consented to some evaluation based on student achievement.

At district empowerment schools, which are given more autonomy and funding for improving student achievement, teachers are eligible for merit pay based on their school's overall performance.

District spokesman Michael Rodriguez said principals take "a comprehensive approach" to judging teachers' performance.

Principals do classroom observation and evaluate lesson plans to make sure teachers are following the appropriate curriculum.

The district already has received $109 million in federal stimulus money for special education and schools that serve low-income students.

In addition to Race to the Top, there will be other opportunities to apply for federal funding.

Duncan will discuss a new competitive grant for schools serving large populations of low-income students at 1:30 p.m. today at Harmon Elementary School, 5351 S. Hillsboro Lane, near Mountain Vista Street and Hacienda Avenue.

He will be joined by Reid and Democratic Reps. Dina Titus and Shelley Berkley for a forum with school staff.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.