Nevada education official steps down

Thursday, July 29, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

State Board of Education member John Hawk unexpectedly resigned Wednesday, just minutes after his colleagues gave final approval to a charter high school he co-founded with his wife.

Hawk said he had "no other option" given an opinion issued in November by the Nevada Commission on Ethics that it would be a conflict of interest for him to keep his seat if the education board sponsored the proposed Nevada State High School.

"It pains me, it tears me apart, but I firmly believe it's the right thing to do," a visibly emotional Hawk told the board members and audience assembled for a special meeting at the Nevada Department of Education offices on West Sahara Avenue.

Hawk's resignation will not affect a pending investigation by the ethics commission. The commission announced July 16 it would undertake its own investigation into whether Hawk had committed ethics violations, by using his elected position to obtain preferential treatment or by ignoring the November opinion that he should resign. The commission is expected to hear the matter in August.

Stacy Jennings, executive director of the state Ethics Commission, said today the case against Hawk will go forward.

"A person can't resign to avoid an ethics complaint," she said.

The law, Jennings said, gives the ethics commission continued jurisdiction when a person in public office is charged but then resigns.

State Board of Education President Gary Waters pronounced himself "shocked and saddened" by Hawk's resignation.

"I had no idea this was coming, no idea whatsoever," Waters said. "I think it's the wrong decision. John isn't on the governing body of the charter school, and there was no conflict of interest. I don't believe we treated him or the (Nevada State High School) charter application differently from anybody else."

Theresa Malone, member of the state education board, said she respected Hawk's decision to resign.

"I expected him to do this at some point if the school went forward and I guess he decided today was the day," Malone said. "I thank him for his contributions to this board and wish him well."

John and Wendi Hawk initially sought sponsorship from the Clark County School Board, a scenario the ethics commission said would not pose a conflict of interest. But the School Board, citing concerns about a shortened academic calendar and instructors who were not also licensed teachers, denied the application.

Hawk put off resigning from the board even after Nevada State High School received preliminary approval from the state Board of Education. He announced last month that he was backing away from the duties of co-founder and leaving the daily operations to his wife.

The plan at that time was for Wendi Hawk to run the school for the first year -- a manageable task, Hawk said, given the projected enrollment of just 35 students. The school intended to have 70 students its first year but about half the pupils chose other programs when the fate of the charter application seemed uncertain, Hawk said.

Hawk had no opponents this year in his campaign for reelection. Gov. Kenny Guinn is expected to appoint a replacement, but it is unclear when an election for the seat would be held.

Wendi Hawk is slated to begin her job as an assistant principal in the Clark County School District next week. John Hawk said his wife will likely put in for a yearlong leave of absence at the August School Board meeting.

The state education board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve converting the application from preliminary to full charter status, enabling the Hawks' school to move ahead with plans to begin classes Aug. 16. The school will start two weeks before the regular Clark County academic year in order to provide students with a comprehensive orientation period, Hawk said.

Waters said while he supported the Hawks' endeavors he was uncomfortable overriding a local school board's rejection of a charter school. But Waters said he and the other members had no choice. That's because according to Nevada law, the education board "shall approve" a charter school application provided all of the requirements are met.

Nevada Department of Education staff are preparing a bill draft request for the 2005 legislative session that would change the word "shall" to "may," giving the state board more authority to reject applications.

"Like it or not, the state Board of Education is now in the school business," Waters said, noting that the Hawks' charter school will be the first to open under state sponsorship. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know. But if we're going to be responsible for individual schools we should have some leeway to make judgments based on philosophy and principle."

For the past few months members of the charter school's governing board have made repeated trips to the state board for approval of the dual credit program. Students at the charter school will take classes at Nevada State College in Henderson, earning both college credits and a high school diploma.

The dual credit program was turned down at the last state education board meeting after several members said they weren't comfortable with high school students taking college-level classes in human sexuality, gaming and bartending. Those courses were removed from the curriculum and the application was approved Wednesday.

The wrangling over Nevada State High School's dual credit proposal has spurred questions about other, similar programs, said State Superintendent Keith Rheault.

A new program in Clark County, designed to encourage minority students to become teachers by offering dual-credit classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, apparently failed to get approval from the state education board, Rheault said. However, the Student to Teacher Enlistment Project, set to debut with the start of the new academic year Aug. 30, will go forward, Rheault said.

State statute allows some leeway for local school districts to approve alternative course credits and STEP appears to fall in that category, Rheault said. However district officials have been asked to provide a complete overview of the program for the state board to review, Rheault said.

At the request of several board members, Waters said a full review of dual credit programs statewide will be undertaken this fall. It's been at least seven years since the state board has looked at such programs, including the Clark County School District's Community College High School program, Waters said.

"The original intent of dual credit programs was never for it to be a way to avoid the regular high school curriculum -- it was a way to get kids interested in post-secondary education," Waters said. "The programs have been very popular and it can save parents thousands of dollars in tuition costs. We're not saying that's not a good thing, it's just time to make sure we're being consistent."

Wednesday's special meeting -- with three members participating via videoconferencing from Carson City -- was originally scheduled to discuss Silver State High School's charter school application to operate in Washoe County. Wendi Hawk e-mailed various board members following the regular meeting July 9 and asked that her school's application be added to Wednesday's agenda.

Waters and several other board members questioned whether the addition to the agenda was legitimate after Waters said he had not reviewed the agenda in advance of its posting, as he typically does. But after consulting their bylaws, the board voted to proceed.