State senator’s son landed teaching post ahead of hiring freeze

To get a teaching job in the Clark County School District, it helps to be qualified in critical shortage areas, such as math or special education, or be willing to work at a high-needs school.

Adam Cegavske didn't follow either path. The son of state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, was hired to teach social studies at a new magnet school, the Southwest Career and Technical Academy. He began work on Jan. 20, two days before the Nevada Economic Forum announced a state revenue shortfall that prompted a district hiring freeze.

The Clark County School Board is expected to ratify Adam Cegavske's teaching contract at a meeting today . He is the only social studies teacher among 45 licensed employee hires before the School Board. The hires are being made as the district faces a new reduction in state funding expected to be made during a legislative special session aimed at closing an $887 million budget shortfall.

The state senator said her son got the job "on his own."

"Give him credit. I tried to stay out of it. We always would be accused of using our influence, so that is why I always stay out of things like that," said Barbara Cegavske, who has served on the Senate's health and education committee. "All I know is he got a job."

Adam Cegavske declined to comment.

Citing personnel policy, district spokesman Michael Rodriguez declined a request for Adam Cegavske's credentials. Rodriguez did say that Cegavske went through the normal hiring process. He said Cegavske was one of 900 teachers and one of 10 social studies teachers to be hired this school year.

The district Web site, ccsd.net, does not currently list social studies as one of the subjects for which teacher applications are being accepted. The district is taking applications for teaching positions in math, science, special education and Spanish.

While the district has not been "actively soliciting" social studies teachers, vacancies do happen from time to time, Rodriguez said.

Cegavske was selected from an applicant pool. He will be paid $16,706 for the semester.

Southwest Career and Technical Academy opened in August near Rainbow Boulevard and Windmill Lane.

In an e-mail sent to School Board members, Martha Tittle, the district's chief human resources officer, said these new employees were hired before the Nevada Economic Forum released information on the state's budget shortfall, now estimated at $887 million.

"The majority of these applicants are for critical labor shortage areas or hard-to-fill positions such as those in high-needs schools that often have more difficulty in recruitment of new teachers," Tittle said.

"A few hires were selected because the school may have had more than one vacancy or had already planned to fill a vacant position with a returning teacher or someone completing student teaching," Tittle said.

The district has since instituted a "hiring freeze," Tittle said in the e-mail. The deadline for hiring teachers is usually March 1, but this year no one was offered contracts after February 1, she added.

Carson City Bureau Chief Ed Vogel contributed to this story.