VICTOR JOECKS: Appointed school board members won’t fix CCSD

The debate over elected school board members misses the point. School board dysfunction isn’t the primary cause of the Clark County School District’s problems.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson is sponsoring Assembly Bill 255. It would replace three of the seven elected members of the district’s Board of Trustees with appointees. The Clark County Commission and the city councils of the two largest cities, Las Vegas and Henderson, would each fill one slot.

Frierson is right to question the district’s performance. For the 2018-19 school year, less than half of the district’s fourth-graders were proficient in reading. In math, it was 43.5 percent. In eighth grade, reading dropped slightly, while math proficiency fell to 29.8 percent, according to tests. The 2019 Nation’s Report Card found just 30 percent of district fourth-graders were proficient in reading.

He’s right to question the board’s performance, too. It’s long had a deserved reputation as dysfunctional. It has also made major missteps, such as not supporting Superintendent Jesus Jara’s push to reopen schools last fall.

Speaking of Jara, in 2018, the board approved a three-year contract for him, which contained an evergreen clause. The board and Jara are fighting over how to interpret that clause, but the board never should have included that in the contract. To be fair, a majority of the current board took office after that contract was signed.

But even the most competent school board would be handcuffed by the requirements imposed by the Legislature, which limits how the district spends money and its ability to identify and fire ineffective educators.

Start with collective bargaining. Trustees can’t directly set the salary schedule or institute proposals such as merit pay or longer school days. They must negotiate with district employee unions. If the district and teachers union can’t agree to terms, the dispute goes to binding arbitration. The first thing the unelected, unaccountable arbitrator looks at is the district’s ability to pay.

This is one of many reasons why more money doesn’t improve anything. Unrestricted funds generally result in paying the same people more to do the same thing.

It doesn’t matter how adept board members are at negotiating. If the union doesn’t get its way initially, it knows it holds the legislatively approved trump card.

The Legislature also sets standards for teacher evaluations. A 2019 law permits only 15 percent of a teacher’s evaluation to be based on how much students learn. Without that change, student-learning growth would have accounted for 40 percent of a teacher’s rating. The Legislature also restricts the district’s ability to fire ineffective teachers once they have post-probationary status.

Do you see the sleight of hand? The Legislature has taken away the ability of the trustees and district staff to control directly finances and personnel. Then, Frierson blames the trustees for not doing a good job. But how can they do a good job with such little control over money and teachers?

Rather than point fingers, Frierson should remove these state-imposed restrictions on the district. If the district continues to fail, then it might be time to revamp the Board of Trustees.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.