Bill would let noneducator run schools

Monday, May 17, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Despite opposition of Southern Nevada Democrats, the Senate has approved and sent to the governor a bill to allow the Clark County School Board to hire a person without educational experience to succeed Superintendent Brian Cram.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, a former Clark County school superintendent, said he would sign the bill and called it a "visionary decision." He said it was a "real step forward" to make education as efficient as possible.

However, if the school board hires a superintendent without an educational background, such as a business executive or a retired military officer, the bill requires it to hire as a second in command an expert in academics.

The vote Saturday was 15-6. All the opposing votes were Democrats from Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. In floor debate, Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, said Assembly Bill 576 would permit the board to "hire the most qualified individual" to run the $1 billion school district, which has 12,000 employees, 200,000 students, a building program of $2 billion to $3 billion and a $50 million computer system.

Clark County has the eighth largest school district in the nation, Rawson said, noting that universities such as Harvard, Stanford and others have employed presidents without academic backgrounds.

But Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, said he doubted the hiring of an individual who is not a licensed school administrator would help children in the district.

"I don't think we're ready to submit that to a bank president or a CEO of some other company," he said. Neal said he has not heard of any problem of the district getting qualified candidates who have school administrators licenses.

In Clark County, the school superintendent's job is as much about building schools and keeping up with growth as it is about more traditional issues that school administrators deal with, Rawson said.