Reform blueprint

New Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones, who arrived here in December after serving as the Colorado state education commissioner, last week unveiled his blueprint for overhauling Southern Nevada’s public schools.

Teacher pay would be tied to performance; privately operated charter schools could take over the physical facilities of ineffective government-run schools; local principals would purportedly gain more power.

Many of his proposals echo reforms promoted by Gov. Brian Sandoval and Michelle Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Jones’ plan calls for rewarding teachers based on performance rather than longevity or for earning advanced degrees. The plan would redirect money from the current salary schedule into an incentive-based system.

“I know a lot of our teachers would be very opposed” to that, said Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association. The status quo is “a traditional way of paying teachers so it’s fair and equitable.”

In a “lemonade from lemons” moment, Mr. Jones declared he’s taking advantage of the economic crisis to look for innovation within the district. The superintendent plans to cut one level of bureaucracy by eliminating area superintendents, who would be moved elsewhere.

Instead of the district’s current system of four geographic regions, schools would be grouped in 12 to 20 clusters called “performance zones.” Principals would have a lot more autonomy, but would be “expected to produce results,” Mr. Jones said. Some of the reforms included in the plan — including the modification of “last in, first out” layoffs — appeared to have been defeated by Senate Democrats in Carson City this spring, but resurfaced in recent days in late-amended bills as part of last-minute budget negotiations.

Gov. Sandoval indicated he would sign those bills.

As ever, such last-minute amendments bear close scrutiny. But it will be harder for reactionaries to sidestep needed changes if they’re codified in state statute.

Yes, cynics can point out a school district of unwieldy size has been repackaged into a different number of “zones” or “clusters” every few years for as long as many can remember — and that (unless they end up driving buses or mopping floors) the bureaucracy is hardly thinned out when area superintendents are merely assigned to other positions.

But the main source of optimism in Mr. Jones’ blueprint is his obvious realization that merely throwing money at the system hasn’t and can’t solve its intransigent problems of student performance. Instead, what’s needed is underlying structural reform aimed at empowering parents and motivating teachers through increased competition.

When it came to sticking with a failed status quo, the Clark County School Board has often been part of the problem. But they did bring Mr. Jones here. Now, let’s hope they take this opportunity to step up and enthusiastically embrace the innovations he offers.