Checks sought on CCSD’s subdistricts

Monday, May 21, 2001 | 9:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Legislature plans to keep a close watch on the reorganization of the Clark County School District.

Calling the district's breakup this year into subdistricts a "shell game," Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, applauded Senate approval Friday for Assembly Bill 364, to require annual reports from the nation's sixth-largest school district.

The bill, authored by Tiffany, will require the school district to file reports on how much each subdistrict spends, a breakdown on the minority students in the subdistricts, how they are performing and whether there is an extraordinary number of beginning teachers in any.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, said the requirement is to verify there is equality in the division so one subdistrict "is not loaded with minorities or special education students."

These subdistricts, Rawson said, should not be structured on economic or racial grounds.

The bill was temporarily held up by Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, who wondered whether the subdistricts' creation was constitutional. Nothing in state law, Neal said, permits the Legislature to create subdistricts in the state's 17 school districts.

"What will happen is they will create the most affluent district and leave the poor areas to fend of themselves," Neal said.

Later in the debate Friday, Neal dropped his opposition when he was advised by legislative attorneys that the local district, not the state, created the new subdistricts.

The Senate then voted 20-0 for the bill and sent it to Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Tiffany had led an initiative petition to allow the breakup of the Clark County School District, but she fell short of the required number of signatures in one county.

Clark County School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia proposed the subdistricts to encourage more parent participation and make the areas more accountable.

Tiffany said she advised Garcia that if his plan doesn't work in three years, she will resume her drive to split the district.

In the meantime, she wants to gather statistics on how the subdistricts work.

The bill would require Clark County to report yearly on each subdistrict on such issues as the number of administrators and their total pay; the number of teachers and their total salaries; how many teachers attended training programs; and the type of training received.

Also required in the report will be the race, ethnic, gender and disability breakdowns of students in each subdistrict; the number of schools performing below standard; what remediation plans are being used to bring the students up to par; the number of year-round schools; and the per-pupil spending.