Glitch delays new policy to limit moves by teachers

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

A new regulation intended to reduce turnover at Clark County's at-risk schools by requiring all new teachers to wait three years before seeking transfers was supposed to take effect today, but it won't.

District officials say many new hires weren't told of the rule change, so they will be allowed to seek exemptions.

As the Clark County School District's teacher transfer season opens today, officials expect more than 1,000 of the district's 15,000 educators to seek new assignments, typical of previous years. Officials had hoped that number would be lower this year.

The district had adopted a requirement that new teachers had to stay at the school where they're first assigned for at least three years before requesting a transfer. Veteran teachers may apply for transfers after two consecutive years at a school.

The provision, part of the hiring contract negotiated by the district and the teachers union last August, was supposed to go into effect this spring. But many of the district's new teachers were hired before the contract was finalized, said Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association.

"They took the job not knowing the limitations," Holloway said. "There could very well have been a lack of communication between the district and the people doing the hiring."

George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources, said the provision is considered in effect, although any new teachers who claim they were not told about the change by recruiters will likely be allowed to participate in the transfer season.

Teachers have been irked by the provision, which some say amounts to indentured servitude, not employment.

"It's difficult to be told you have to stay at a job where you're unhappy," Holloway said. "Teachers usually don't want to leave an at-risk school because of the kids, it's because of the administration. Forcing them to stay won't improve the quality of instruction."

Moises Denis, treasurer of the Nevada PTA, said limiting teacher transfers is a sensible solution to a serious problem.

"Children need continuity," said Denis, whose daughter attends Ronnow-Edison Elementary School, an at-risk campus. "If you don't have continuity amongst the staff, it's difficult to accomplish educational goals or build a real school community."

The district had more than 1,000 of its 14,000 teachers transfer last year, a rate that has stayed steady for several years, Rice said. That number should begin declining when the new teacher provision takes full effect next spring, Rice said.

The number of teacher transfers is also affected by the district's opening of 10 new campuses this year and 11 more schools in the fall. Principals who are asked to open a new campus often take their core office staff and a handful of teachers with them from their current school.

Current district teachers get first crack at job openings for next fall, which are posted on an online message board by principals. Teachers returning from sabbaticals or extended leave are next in line for the vacancies. Any jobs that remain open after that are offered to new hires.