LETTERS: School district believes in transparency

To the editor:

I want to clear up some misinformation presented in Monday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial (“Taxpayers deserve expansive transparency”) concerning the Clark County School District. As the title suggests, taxpayers do deserve transparency. We in the Clark County School District believe that and work every day to be transparent.

The editorial states that the district won’t release a tentative agreement we have reached with the Clark County Education Association, the association representing the district’s 18,000 teachers. That is simply not true.

We were not able to release details of the tentative agreement until the association members ratified it on August 28. We did put out some details to the public in a news release the following day, and the tentative agreement is now posted on our website, www.ccsd.net under the “employee information” section.

After several years of difficult negotiations caused by severe budget cuts, we are glad to have a contract in place with teachers at the beginning of the school year. The new contract covers step increases on the salary scale, a 1 percent pay raise for all teachers, and includes a reduction in contributions from the district and the teachers union to the retiree system, saving our hard-working teachers and the district money.

Any members of the public who would like to provide input on the contract before the School Board votes on it Sept. 26 are welcome to email or call us.

Having a contract in place with our teachers is of great importance. It boosts teacher morale and provides security for our teachers, which is good for all of our students. I hope all interested parties will join the conversation and continue to help us transform this district by ensuring every student in every classroom graduates ready for success in college and career.

CAROLYN EDWARDS

LAS VEGAS

Carolyn Edwards is president of the Clark County School Board.