LETTER: Clark County teachers will get their raises
September 29, 2023 - 9:00 pm

Kenny Belknap, a teacher at Del Sol Academy and Clark County Education Association board member, right, prepares to sign an initiative petition with CCEA attorney Daniel Stewart for a tax proposal to raise $1 billion for education at the Nevada Secretary of State office at North Las Vegas City Hall Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
At some point, the Clark County Education Association is going to get significant wage improvements for its membership. But will that improve education in Clark County? I don’t think so, but it’s not the fault of teachers. The real blame for the dismal state of education in the county belongs to administration “leadership” and Superintendent Jesus Jara.
Mr. Jara has pursued policies lowering standards and promoting the farcical theory of “restorative justice” instead of real standards for student behavior. Teachers can’t fail or discipline students, and attendance has become optional. Incidents of violence in our schools are commonplace and faculty members go to school in fear of what may happen.
Instead of being institutions dedicated to excellence and healthy competition, our schools are now dedicated to advancing the notion of “victimhood.” Students use Mr. Jara’s “soft racism” of lowered expectations to avoid even making the effort to succeed. They still get passed through the grades to eventually graduate, lacking the basic skills of reading, writing and math.
It’s axiomatic that things don’t get fixed until they’re broken. Let’s stop kidding ourselves: The school district is broken. It’s time for sweeping change at the top to eliminate the causations of failure and start over with mandates from the administration for academic improvement from students. Standards work and need to return to Las Vegas schools.