EDITORIAL: Nevada education establishment gearing up for 2019 legislitive session

The Clark County School District last week announced its legislative agenda a few days after Democrats solidified their majorities in both houses. Among the not-so-surprising priorities: increasing base per-pupil funding, altering the Distributive School Account formula to direct more money into district coffers and securing additional funds for early childhood education.

Sense a theme?

In addition, expect education unions to vigorously pursue salary and benefit increases for teachers and others in the system. Where all the money will come from for this — some activists insist the state needs to spend $1 billion more each year on k-12 education — remains to be seen. But keep in mind that Democrats now enjoy the supermajority necessary to pass tax hikes in the Assembly and — pending the results of a recount in one district — are just a single vote shy of attaining that threshold in the Senate.

Missing from this conversation is any mention of accountability. In fact, it’s entirely probable that lawmakers during the 2019 session will seek to roll back previous reforms intended to hold the state’s public schools accountable for their lackluster performance.

For instance, legislation mandating that kids be proficient in reading before they leave third grade or be held back is unlikely to survive. More options for parents who want to get their children out of failing schools? Fat chance. And expect legislative Democrats to also strangle efforts to improve teacher evaluations and create a merit pay system for educators.

All these actions would be regrettable, but the latter particularly so. Studies show that a high-quality teacher is an integral part of boosting classroom achievement. Yet the socialized one-size-fits-all union pay schedule fails to recognize the value of outstanding performers, rewarding the undistinguished and protecting those who struggle in the classroom. This is by design, yet it is catastrophically destructive, hurting students and crippling efforts to retain and attract good people.

Nevada has been struggling to implement a stricter teacher evaluation system for almost seven years. In the meantime, the current system yields patently ludicrous results. Just 55 of the 20,785 Nevada teachers rated during the 2015-16 school year were deemed “ineffective,” leaving 99 percent of educators with a rating of “highly effective” or “effective.” Sure.

Fealty to the status quo is how Nevada came to be burdened with a reputation for having one of the nation’s poorest performing public school systems. Simply directing millions more into the system absent any consequences for continued mediocrity isn’t the answer and is a recipe for stagnation. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be the favored approach in Carson City next year.