LETTER: CCSD must stop playing games with union

The Clark County School District needs to fill more than 1,200 vacancies before school begins. That amounts to 35,000 students without a teacher, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

As education writer Matthew Lynch points out, “Individuals who don’t understand what it takes to improve test scores or build strong relationships with students as a teacher can’t do these things as an administrator.” With the limited teaching experience of our district leadership, it’s no wonder we can’t retain quality educators and why many parents are enrolling children elsewhere: Members of the administration are out of touch with what it’s like to be in a classroom in 2023.

Last year, the district took away the early retirement incentive program, leaving us with hundreds of unused sick days that are worth pennies on the dollar when we retire. And now, district officials want veteran educators to shoulder the financial burden of mistakes they made when placing people on the salary schedule. This is money fought for by our union to pay all educators what they deserve, not to clean up their mess.

Once again, district officials are biting the hand that feeds them. This stunt they are pulling will not attract more educators. It will perpetuate the teaching shortage, the deficit in student achievement and the exodus of students and educators to private or charter schools.