CCSD’s Cram praises national education study

Friday, Jan. 9, 1998 | 10:40 a.m.

Clark County School Superintendent Brian Cram gave an A-plus to a national study that gave Nevada mostly Ds in several areas of education that were the focus of a report released Thursday.

The study, similar to one released a year ago, was conducted by Education Week, a Washington-based publication for educators.

In the two reports, Nevada ranked 39th in the amount of money it spends per student.

"The report was absolutely accurate. Our funding is lower. We typically are 13th from the bottom," he noted during a break in a regular School Board meeting Thursday night.

But, he says, even though funding is low, student test scores are at or above the national average, which indicates the state's teachers are able to accomplish more with less.

The 270-page "Quality Counts '98" report gave Nevada a D in quality of teaching, a D in adequacy of funding, a D in allocation of funds and a B- in funding equity.

Several education professionals in Nevada complained that the numbers used to arrive at the grades were not accurate reflections of the education system.

They point out that the state received generally low marks because it does not use a standardized national test preferred by the federal government, a test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Because the scores on those tests weigh heavily in the research, states that don't use it typically score lower.

Cram said Nevada schools will use NAEP tests next year, which should greatly improve the grades given by Education Week.

Many educators point out that Nevada faces unique problems. Being the fastest growing state in the nation, there is a problem with overcrowded classrooms and supplying experienced teachers.

Cram pointed out that 98 percent of the teachers in his district teach in their areas of certification. Most of the 2 percent who don't are in the areas of special education, which has a desperate need for more teachers.

Another problem faced by the Nevada education system is the level of education of parents. The state is in the bottom five in terms of the number of parents with college degrees, Cram said.

Cram said parents' level of education impacts the students and their attitudes, and that's an additional hurdle the district must overcome.

Other hurdles include a massive transient population and a high number of students who don't speak English, or don't speak it well.

"Most of the factors in the report we have no control over," Cram said.

Those factors are in the hands of the state Legislature.

In other business at the School Board meeting, board members unanimously re-elected Susan Brager as president.

It also elected Ruth Johnson as vice president, to replace out-going Vice President Larry Mason, and it elected Judy Witt clerk, to replace out-going Clerk Lois Tarkanian.

Also Thursday, the board approved the names of two new schools that will open in 1999. Sites of the facilities have not been chosen.

One elementary school will be named the D'Voree and Hal Ober Elementary School, after a couple who have been active in the Las Vegas community since moving here 18 years ago. He is a builder, constructing nearly 30 communities, and she is a retired teacher who does volunteer work and was instrumental in convincing the Legislature to approve the first preschool program for children who are visually impaired.

Another elementary school will be named after Hal Smith, who spent 30 years in the Navy and then had a second career as vice president of Prudential Bache Securities, Burrows Smith Division. He helped the community in many ways, including convincing Congress to return the federal tax on coin-operated machines to Nevada for education purposes.

The board also awarded bids on a number of projects, including the remodeling of the historic Boulder City High School and rehabilitating several high school running tracks.

The apparent low bidder on the $3.125 million Boulder City school project was Carson Construction Management Inc.

Bidding for the running tracks was not much of a race -- only one firm sent in a bid and the board agreed to it.

Las Vegas Paving Corp. had the "apparent low bid" of $614,800 to rehabilitate the tracks at Cheyenne, Cimarron-Memorial and Green Valley high schools.

The board also voted to set the term of office for members of the Bond Oversight Committee from July 1 to June 30.