School Board vote draws racism claim

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, Jan. 10, 2003 | 11 a.m.

There were hard feelings and allegations of racism Thursday after the Clark County School Board voted to keep its current president, denying member Shirley Barber the chance to be the first black member to hold the post.

The board elected Sheila Moulton to a second consecutive term as president Thursday, despite a public plea from Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, that Barber be chosen.

Following the vote, Williams and Barber suggested the decision had been motivated by racial factors.

"It was pretty blatant," said Barber, who is serving her second term on the board. "But I'm not letting it get me down. I'm still going to do what I've always done, which is fight for the kids."

Williams, a frequent critic of the School Board, called the vote an insult to the district's black employees, students and their families.

"They trusted her in the front of a classroom to teach our children, they trusted her as a principal to run our schools but they don't trust her with a gavel," Williams said. "It's an interesting contradiction."

Other board members disputed the race allegation. Larry Mason, who nominated Barber and voted against Moulton, said: "This isn't about race, it's about popularity and personality. That's often what happens in politics."

Board member Ruth Johnson, who nominated Moulton, said with the legislative session set to begin next month it's critical to have an experienced hand at the helm.

"I have the upmost respect for Mrs. Barber, but Mrs. Moulton has done an outstanding job this past year and represented the board extraordinarily well, including under some difficult circumstances," Johnson said.

"It's upsetting someone would perceive that as racism, because that's certainly not the case."

During the public comment portion of the board's meeting, Williams read a letter of support for Barber from the Black Elected Officials of Southern Nevada. Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates is chairwoman of that coalition.

Mason also publicly urged his colleagues to support Barber before the vote, citing her more than 30 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in Clark County.

"Mrs. Barber treats everyone with respect, and she challenges this board to look at everyone as an equal," Mason said. "Diversity is a strength, and it's a strength that she brings to this board."

Moulton was elected by a 5-2 vote, with Barber and Mason, the board clerk at the time, dissenting. By the same margin, Denise Brodsky was named vice chairwoman and Susan Brager-Wellman was selected to be the new board clerk by the same margin. Barber and Mason were the two dissenting votes.

The previous board presidents, Brodsky and Brager-Wellman, had also served two consecutive terms in that role.