School Board challengers question policies

Terry Webster

Friday, Oct. 13, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

Student achievement, the School Board's new Policy Governance program and the goals for Superintendent Carlos Garcia are among the top issues facing the board as the general election nears.

On a larger scale, the board faces statistics that rank Nevada among the worst in the country for high school dropouts, teenage pregnancy and teenage suicide.

With all of that on their plates, School Board incumbents, who sailed through the primary election, are facing challengers in the general election who are raising those questions.

Incumbents Mary Beth Scow of District A, Ruth Johnson of District B and Shirley Barber of District C are being challenged by Isaac Farrell, Troy Bulloch, and Beatrice Turner, respectively.

Two District E candidates, Denise Brodsky and Jacqueline Jones, are competing for the seat being vacated by Lois Tarkanian, who is running for the County Commission instead of seeking re-election to the School Board.

Farrell and Bulloch are irked by the board's new Policy Governance program, a concept strongly supported by Scow and Johnson.

Under policy governance, the board sets policies and goals and then relies on the superintendent to direct staff to carry them out.

The board has held seminars with Miriam Carver, who along with her husband, John, holds talks on policy governance throughout the world.

Scow and Johnson have said policy governance will allow the board to operate more efficiently, focus on its goals and give Garcia the power to succeed.

Bulloch isn't buying it.

"I think the board is trying to delegate the last little bit of authority that it has," Bulloch said. "I don't think it's a very accountable situation."

Farrell criticized a recent policy governance training seminar that included principals, administrators, the School Board and Garcia.

"They were all away from their responsibilities to come to this training," Farrell said. "This was supposed to be a revolutionary method of management. For us in the business world, this is the way we operate every day.

"The district would not have wasted this money if there were business people on the board. This is the way it would have been operating."

Scow, 47, the board president, holds a bachelor's degree in community health education. Her campaign platform involves increasing student achievement by attracting excellent teachers, accommodating growth and effective board governance.

Scow has served on the School Board's legislative and curriculum committees, was a member of the state Math Standards Writing Team, has been a PTA member since 1979 and has been active in the Boy Scouts.

A Clark County resident for 23 years, Scow has had five children graduate from local schools and has four who are enrolled in the district.

She says she believes the best way for the School Board to operate is by setting clear expectations and holding the superintendent accountable.

The 52-year-old Farrell, president of Scion Computers, is stressing accountability and accessibility.

"I will not rubber stamp the budget and uncontrolled misspending," Farrell said. "I have already found a $2 million error. I have found many other areas of misleading departmental budgeting."

Farrell and Bulloch, both businessmen, say they have the expertise to understand the financial workings of the district, a $2 billion operation.

A former School Board president, Johnson, 41, favors putting an end to unfunded state mandates. She also says full support of congressional representatives needs to be enlisted to ensure that federal special education mandates are funded.

She has worked with special education students and was a program manager for United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Nevada. She earned an associate's degree in textiles, a bachelor's degree in psychology and has completed graduate work in elementary education.

Johnson says the work of the board, superintendent and staff should be evaluated through student achievement.

Bulloch says he wants more accountability for school spending and district decisions, effective solutions to overcrowding, the creation of user-friendly schools to create more parental, business and community involvement, and standardized guidelines for curriculum and instruction.

Bulloch, 29, says he has 10 years of financial management experience and extensive public relations skills and a good community rapport.

A graduate of the Clark County School District, Bulloch holds a degree in business management from the Community College of Southern Nevada.

In District C, Barber, 65, a retired Clark County School District administrator, had an education career that spanned 28 years.

"Student achievement has always been my main concern," Barber says. "And we really need to take a closer look at the dropout rate."

In her campaign Barber also is stressing higher student achievement, accountability for all levels of the district, reducing waste and duplication and recruiting and retaining top teachers.

Turner, 40, who is challenging Barber, is a high school graduate. Turner is focusing on better pay for teachers, upgrading old schools, reducing class sizes, obtaining top-of-the-line computers for all schools and making certain that money coming into the school district is being spent on the children.

A parent of three and a Clark County native, Turner has been recognized for community service by the Clark County Health District, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the West Side Action Alliance Korps -- Uplifting People, and AmeriCorps Vista.

Turner says scores on the High School Proficiency Exam can be improved by administering pre-test exams and setting up free tutoring programs.

District E candidate Brodsky, 42, who is working towards a bachelor's degree in business administration, says partnerships need to be developed with legislators.

"In doing so, trustees will acquire a better understanding of state funding, and legislators will have a better understanding of educational needs," she said. "We must also aggressively demand federal dollars to help fund such mandates."

Brodsky says her top concerns are academic excellence, reducing overcrowding in classrooms, stemming teen violence and reversing the high school dropout rate.

A wife and a mother of three, Brodsky says she has been active in education issues since 1981, when her first child entered school.

Brodsky's opponent, Jones, 33, executive director of the Nevada Association of Female Executives and Entrepreneurs, also stresses the importance of strong professional relationships with state legislators.

"Nevada is in the lowest tenth percentile in funding," says Jones. "I would meet with legislators to heighten the awareness of the lack of funding in Nevada. I would also have research done on the availability of federal funding, private funding, as well as funding from the business community."

Jones is stressing the availability of student busing, getting more students interested in becoming teachers, retaining teachers and providing continuing training. She also would like to see year-round schools eliminated, which she says would allow better monitoring of truancy and absenteeism. By doing that, the dropout and pregnancy rates could be reduced, Jones says.