Kicking off the first public comment period at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC) for the reorganization of the Clark County School District (CCSD) was none other than CCSD Trustee Carolyn Edwards. In her comment, Edwards launched into a statement criticizing the proposed plan. She expressed concern about the reform process being pushed too quickly. She then read off a list of perceived problems where trustees felt there would be inequities or troubles in its implementation. This was given, mind you, in the final meeting before passage of the plan; and it was the first real input from the Trustees since the process began nearly 12 months ago.
Of course, Committee Chairman Sen. Michael Roberson (R-Henderson) did not allow this comment to stand without response. He pointed out that, only the day before, he had spent several hours with the CCSD Superintendent and his cracker jack legal team, going through the plan and its regulations with a fine tooth comb.
“They were entirely satisfied that all of these concerns you have listed had been met and addressed,” Roberson said. “So I am a little puzzled by your comments here.”
On the other side of the political divide, Committee member Sen. Aaron Ford (D-Las Vegas) also spoke up to express his own dismay. He voiced frustration that, though trustees had been present in all of the previous meetings, it was only now at the very end that they were voicing concerns. The Board of Trustees should have been, not only airing concerns all along, but proffering solutions to them throughout the process, he said.
“I would appreciate having proposed language, as opposed to you just delineating problems; maybe some proposed solutions that would address your concerns,” Ford told Edwards. “In any case, I think all of your listed concerns have already been addressed in this draft.”
And then the final blow: “I am disappointed that the chair of this committee can sit down and have a meeting with the Superintendent and his general counsel and be advised that things are okay; and then almost immediately thereafter, here is the Board of Trustees still unsatisfied with these solutions that have been recommended!” Ford said.
Of course, the question at the crux of all of this is: Where has the CCSD School Board been over the past year? They have certainly not been engaged in a constructive way in this process. They have not given any practical input into the plan. Though they are tasked with leading the CCSD, they have remained aloof and silent throughout the numerous meetings; entirely refraining from being a part of finding a solution to the abysmal state of public education in Clark County.
On the other hand, they have been busy behind the scenes to hinder the reform process. We have seen evidence of that both regionally and close to home. Last spring, when the MVCEAB started to open a dialog with legislators, Trustee Chris Garvey came to a MVCEAB meeting and shut the local group down. When a member of a Technical Advisory Committee, tasked with assisting the LAC through the process, sought to meet with local principals to receive input on problems that the plan might address, he was denied access to those principals by CCSD central management. And at a broader level, when the LAC was holding its Town Hall Meetings this summer, and expected the CCSD Superintendent to be present, the Board of Trustees actually forbade him to attend.
The CCSD Board of Trustees is entirely out of touch. The Board has seemed both apathetic and oblivious to the urgent need for education reform. Even worse, they have seemed openly hostile to the authority of the State Legislature in this matter. Trustees apparently feel that they can just close their eyes, plug their ears and ignore the actions of the Legislature away. And that is a grave situation, indeed.
It was reported in the regional news last week that Roberson has filed a bill draft for the next legislative session that would disband the board of trustees as elected positions. Instead, leaders from Clark County and the other municipalities would appoint representatives to fill the board seats. This seems like a most drastic action to take. But given the deplorable and unresponsive behavior of the CCSD Board throughout this broadly supported reform effort, perhaps such drastic measures are needed. If the Trustees will not be part of the solution, they need to be taken out of the way.
