Some unhappy with ‘happy talk’

As a semifinalist for a full scholarship to Yale University, 17-year-old senior Layla Rouas recently told the Clark County School Board that "I can't complain about Durango (High School)."

She's one of more than 20 student body presidents who have spoken before the School Board this academic year without voicing anything negative. Instead, they gush with praise over their schools' accomplishments.

To critics, the flattering speeches and recognition ceremonies that launch School Board meetings are not-so-subtle ways for education officials to pat themselves on the back, inoculate themselves against negativity and delay the discussion of business.

"It's nothing but happy talk when there are real and pressing problems," said Jay Greene, the chairman of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

But the School Board wants to provide a platform for the good news happening in schools, a Clark County School District official said.

"This is the stuff that keeps me sane," Clark County School Board President Terri Janison said.

Moving all the recognition ceremonies and student speeches to a special monthly meeting has been considered, Janison said, but it's not something she favors. "I like the way we do it."

Greene said school boards across the country begin their meetings in such a fashion. But doing so delays discussion on more controversial subjects until the crowd thins and media deadlines have passed.

"It's not the idealized democracy we would like," Greene said.

At a November meeting, frustrated by a prolonged discussion on landscaping, community activist Marzette Lewis accused School Board members of "filibustering." She had come to complain about a principal, but got impatient with the meandering discussion.

"They went to Egypt and came back to Australia," Lewis said.

Lewis, a member of the Westside Action Alliance Korps-Uplifting People, or WAAK-UP, then threatened to retaliate by campaigning against a possible 2010 referendum for a $4.9 billion bond program for school maintenance and equipment.

Karen Gray, an education researcher for the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute, noted the public is only allowed to speak about nonagenda items at the end of a meeting. School Board members, as a new policy, no longer respond to speakers on nonagenda items.

"They only have to engage the public on (agenda) items they want to talk about," Gray said.

Janison said the board decided to stop responding to nonagenda items because they didn't want to violate the open meeting law. A staff person is asked to talk to those who have a concern about a nonagenda item. School Board members also can also put the subject on a future agenda.

Regular Clark County School Board meetings, usually held twice a month on Thursdays, start at 4 p.m. Janison said the board does not begin public comment on agenda items or take up voting matters until after 5:30 p.m. to accommodate people's work schedules.

The first 90 minutes of a meeting will sometimes includes informational reports, such as a Nov. 12 presentation on the district's response to the H1N1 outbreak. TV news crews grew fidgety as a round of school recognitions bumped the swine flu presentation past the deadline for the 5 p.m. news.

Steve Crupi, a reporter for KVBC-TV, Channel 3, noted the printed agenda item on H1N1 gave no indication of what the report might contain.

"It would be nice get the information, not just for the media, but for the public," Crupi said.

Officially, student body presidents are asked to speak about how their schools are helping to achieve the School Board's vision statement: "All students have the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to achieve academically, prosper economically and participate in democracy."

Although their speeches are reviewed by school staff, usually a vice principal or a guidance counselor, students said they are not told what to say or how to say it.

"They just told us to talk about our school," said Jasmin Franklin, 17, student body president at Valley High School. "I'm always positive because I love Valley."

Desirae Acosta, 17, student body president at Silverado High School, said administrators at her school said that student speeches are School Board members' favorite part of the meeting. She did not want to bother the board with "petty problems."

Ron Taylor, a former School Board candidate and district teacher on medical leave, said it's obvious that the student speeches are intended as "kudos" to the School Board members.

School Board meetings are "supposed to be business meetings," Taylor said. "Do customers talk about how much they love the (casino) shows and restaurants at the beginning of Harrah's board meetings?"

Martin Dean Dupalo, another former School Board candidate and adjunct professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said politicians like to align themselves with children to make it difficult for people to criticize them.

"In politics, you generally hope children are left out of it," Dupalo said. "They're easy to manipulate."

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