School district adds new position

Teresa Hinds

Friday, Sept. 12, 1997 | 10:06 a.m.

The Clark County School District administration just got bigger, with the addition of a deputy assistant superintendent in charge of educational accountability.

The new position is part of a reorganization of the community relations division. The School Board voted 6-1 Thursday night for the departmental shuffle.

Bob McCord, who served as director of governmental relations and legislation, was named deputy assistant superintendent and will report directly to Superintendent Brian Cram.

In addition to being responsible for tracking and reporting state-mandated education accountability, McCord will supervise the legislative lobbyist and the graphic arts department. He will retain his annual salary and benefits package of $100,004.

Joyce Haldeman, who was an administrative specialist in the community affairs department, was promoted to the position of director of community outreach and government relations. She was also given a $5,766 annual raise for the three-quarter-time position. Her annual salary is now $64,977, which includes benefits.

Legislative activities and state legislative relationship duties that were originally assigned to Haldeman's new position under the new proposal were transferred to McCord.

There was little discussion of Cram's proposed reorganization before the School Board vote, but parent Glenn Nelson spoke up and chastised the district for adding another administrator to the mix.

"Again I see the school district intends to make itself more and more top heavy," Nelson said. "It's amazing that this building doesn't tip over."

Following the vote, board member Shirley Barber had numerous questions about McCord and Haldeman's specific duties and the relationship to their salaries.

"What I want to know is what will he (McCord) be doing different that should be going on now?" Barber asked Cram.

"What he's doing has been put in place to deal with the new accountability bill," Cram responded, referring to legislation passed in this year's Nevada Legislature to improve educational accountability. "He will be collecting data and making sure we're in compliance."

Barber also questioned what the qualifications for Haldeman's new position are and the four-step raise on the pay scale.

"We wanted someone who's been successful in these things in the past," Cram said. "This person will provide a bridge between ourselves and the community, someone who understands the political system and grass-roots campaigning."

Haldeman was instrumental in coordinating the 1994 and 1996 bond campaigns for new school construction.

Barber then questioned how a director could be a three-quarter-time position and commented that moving from a range 38 to a range 42 on the pay scale was a large jump. "We need to take a look at that," she said.

"Our response to that would be that this is a person who generates a lot of money for the school district," Cram said.

He also said Haldeman was the one who requested a three-quarter-time position with the district but in reality she often works in excess of 40 hours a week.

Barber recommended that Ray Willis, director of the district's public information office, be brought up on the pay scale one step to make his position financially on par with Haldeman's.

Since the pay raise was not part of the board's posted agenda, a vote on Willis' raise was held until the next School Board meeting.