Teachers revisit demands for salary hikes, class cuts

Terry Webster

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 | 9:53 a.m.

Nevada teachers are still fighting for more state education funding, despite the economic aftershocks caused by Sept. 11.

Teacher demonstrations and newspaper advertisements -- commonly seen before and during the 2001 Legislature that ended in May -- are surfacing again.

The recent flurry of newspaper ads and demonstrations, according to Ken Lange, executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, is to "keep people aware of the issues in education."

For the most part, the issues haven't changed. Recent ads by the union point to a lack of textbooks, overcrowded classes, student dropouts and per-pupil funding that is about $1,000 lower than the national average.

"The rest of the nation is accelerating its per-pupil funding, and we're just staying the same," Lange said.

Teachers recently held a demonstration outside a Clark County School Board meeting in protest of issues such as rising health care costs and overcrowded classrooms. According to Lange, Nevada's class sizes are the fifth biggest in the nation.

During recent School Board meetings, sparks have flown as teachers, board members and administrators hotly debated teacher pay. The debates usually concluded with all parties blaming the state for not providing sufficient education funding.

Months earlier, while lobbying state politicians, teachers marched up and down city streets with signs -- "Save Our Schools" -- and handed out fliers to passersby and parents outside of normal school hours.

Some teachers pledged to work no more than their contracted hours. Now the union is continuing its efforts to drum up support from a key group: parents.

"Imagine what we could do if we had more computers and textbooks and really great materials," Lange said. Parents should be concerned about large class sizes, he said, because eventually it can impact student performance.

"When you get 40 kids in a class, it becomes a crowd management issue," Lange said. "Teachers just can't give all kids the attention they deserve. Can you imagine teaching five classes and having to grade 200 sophomore English papers?"

School Board members have said they are concerned about teacher pay and class sizes, but they have no control over state funding.

Some administrators in the district recently received big pay hikes when they were named to new positions that carry more responsibility, School Board member Larry Mason said.

"Yet teachers are being asked to have more responsibility and they are not getting any more money," Mason said.

Not everyone sees a problem -- or an easy solution -- with larger class sizes, particularly at the high school level. Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, who also chairs the Legislative Committee on Education, said much of the problem lies with Clark County's rapid growth.

"We may have no other choice than to have larger class sizes, given the intake of students we have," he said.

Priscilla Rocha, a teacher at Hewetson Elementary and member of the State Board of Education, said teachers still need to stand up for higher salaries.

"Teachers are tired of getting beaten down," she said. "They are walking around like their wings are broken."

Added to these concerns are questions about how the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will affect state education funding. The full effect it will have is still unknown, said Doug Thunder, the Nevada Department of Education's deputy superintendent for administrative and fiscal services.

"We know that the sales tax revenue is down 9 percent compared to last year," Thunder said. "But that in itself isn't all together helpful. We really need to see the figures for October -- in terms of what is happening to state revenues -- to get a clearer picture of the long-term impact.

"So much of the state funding is built on the sales and gaming tax, two sources of revenue that can fluctuate drastically."