Garcia chooses four region chiefs

Terry Webster

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 11:37 a.m.

Four longtime administrators are in line to become regional superintendents in the reorganization of the Clark County School District, the nation's sixth largest.

Superintendent Carlos Garcia's plan, to be unveiled tonight before the School Board, is expected to promote the four and provide raises of up to $18,000 a year, according to an official close to the reorganization.

The four, according to officials who asked to remain anonymous, are Edward Goldman, superintendent of employee relations; Marsha Irvin, assistant superintendent of East Central Area Schools; Maurice Flores, assistant superintendent of the southeast area for elementary schools; and Leonard Paul, assistant superintendent of secondary education.

In addition, the officials said, Walt Rulffes, chief financial officer, and Augie Orci, assistant superintendent for elementary education, will receive promotions.

The School Board meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Education Center on Flamingo Road.

The reorganization came in response to a petition initiative launched by state Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, that would have allowed voters to break up the school district.

The petition failed by a narrow margin to garner enough signatures in 13 of the state's 17 counties, as required by law. Tiffany recently dropped her challenge to the signature count, saying she would give Garcia time to put his reorganization plan into effect.

The plan involves breaking the district into smaller subdistricts, as a way to create a school system that is more responsive to its neighborhood communities.

Under the plan, each subdistrict will have a center staffed by a regional superintendent and two assistant superintendents.

Tiffany has said Garcia's vision meets her idea of creating a school district that is more responsive.

But Tiffany is still pursuing a measure to break up the district if it grows to 275,000 students. The district now has 231,000 students.

Garcia has said part of his reorganization involved an in-depth assessment of his administrators to determine which role they would play most effectively.

School officials would not confirm any information about the re-districting plan before the meeting.

"Nothing is being released ahead of time," school district spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larsen said this morning. "(Garcia) will do a full presentation on what it is and what it will involved during the meeting, and afterward he will make himself available for any questions the media may have."

The district also has had to deal with financial problems. It was forced to eliminate $18 million from the current $1.1 billion budget to offset mediated employee raises and rising utility costs.

Additionally, various positions have been or will remain unfilled during the budget crunch.