Editorial: New hires are logical for district

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | 8:28 a.m.

School officials around the country cringe when proposing budgets that fund more administrative positions. Administrators are easy targets for tax critics, who often refer to them as "educrats." Such derision, however, cannot be justified in this age of complex government mandates, year-round schedules, night schools, bond issues, school police, intense standardized testing, stricter requirements for special education, increasing use of technology and diverse student bodies that require special curriculums emphasizing language and remedial and advanced course work. All of this, and much more, is managed by administrators. Schools would cease to function without them.

Nonetheless, Walt Rulffes understands the job ahead of him as the Clark County School District explains its proposed $1.67 billion budget for 2004-2005 that calls for the hiring of 49 new administrators, including three new assistant superintendents. Rulffes, the district's deputy superintendent of operations, told Sun education reporter Emily Richmond that he will be working against the perception that the district is top heavy with administrators. "We know this (the budget) is going to be a tough sell ..." Rulffes said, referring to the proposed administrative hires.

In our view, however, it's wrong to oppose additional administrative positions because of rote perceptions that they will be excessive. If a solid analysis proves they are not needed, fine. But, given the numbers, we doubt that would be the case. Administrative positions account for just 3.5 percent of the total budget of the the Clark County School District, which has 268,357 students enrolled. By fall, it's anticipated there will be 280,000 students, which would make the district the fifth-largest in the nation. Projections show there will be 400,000 students by 2012. As student enrollment grows, so must administrative and teaching positions -- the new budget also calls for 492 additional teachers.

In the past, criticism of the "top heavy" variety has led to calls for breaking up the district, as if creating smaller districts independent of each other would somehow lessen the administrative load. It wouldn't do that, but it would lead to some schools, depending on their location, having considerably more resources and support than others. There will never be perfect equity among schools, but as it stands in the Clark County School District, extreme fluctuations in quality are nonexistent. And who do we have to thank? Administrators.