School Board decides to cut panels

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2000 | 10:59 a.m.

Cutting committees

The School Board will no longer have its own committees to study or work on the following issues:

The Clark County School Board axed 21 committees Monday, giving more responsibility and authority to the superintendent and staff members.

While dining on barbecued ribs and peach cobbler, the School Board pushed forward with its new mode of operation -- Policy Governance -- during a retreat at H & H Barbecue on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Supporters of the Policy Governance model say it allows the board to set the district's overall goals and holds staff accountable by using reports to gauge how well those goals are being met.

By eliminating the committees, the board gives staff members sole control over areas ranging from the district's $1.1 billion budget to student dropouts and school construction.

Armed with a 42-page document that outlines new policies and how to evaluate the superintendent's job performance, the board also eliminated committees for districtwide policies and superintendent evaluations.

But the board decided to hang on to committees concerning legislative and governmental affairs, the naming of new schools, bond oversight, the Attendance Zone Advisory Committee, debt management, the Nevada Association of School Boards, parks and recreation, the district's television station KLVX Channel 10, and the student council advisory panel.

School Board committees traditionally study issues, make recommendations to staff and issue reports to the full School Board.

"I don't know how we can say we don't need a budget committee," board member Shirley Barber said. "I guess we're going to leave all of that up to staff."

Some board members questioned whether all of the work they have started will be picked up by staff members.

Also Monday the board revised the operation of the Attendance Zone Advisory Committee, which sets the attendance boundaries for new schools. Starting with the 2001-2002 school year:

At the urging of board president Mary Beth Scow, the board began studying Policy Governance as a way to operate more efficiently. The Policy Governance model was designed by John and Miram Carver of Atlanta, who give seminars on it throughout the country.

Sue Strand, president of the Clark County Education Association, said teachers are concerned about how Policy Governance may affect them.

Policy Governance is expected to be fully implemented in the district by July 2001.