Editorial: School of conflicts

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

John Hawk is a first-term member of the Nevada Board of Education who wants to open a charter school. An employee of the Clark County School District, Hawk has his sights set on running the school with his wife, also a school district employee. The school would partner with Nevada State College in Henderson and its students would be able to earn high school and college credits simultaneously.

State law allows charter schools, but requires that they be approved by the local school districts. Curiously, the law also allows the state Board of Education to override the school districts' decisions. When the Clark County School District expressed reservations about Hawk's proposal to shorten the school calendar, and his plans to use part-time college instructors who may lack teaching credentials, the state board (on which Hawk serves) granted him waivers on those accounts. This led the Clark County School Board to reject his application outright.

Hawk then turned to the state board again, asking it to approve his application. In an earlier editorial, we pointed out the clear conflict of interest and said Hawk should withdraw the application. He didn't. But he did say, consistent with a state Ethics Commission ruling, that he would resign from the state board if it backed his school. On Saturday the state board voted to approve Hawk's application and become the school's supervising sponsor.

But now Hawk is going back on his earlier promise to resign, saying, "I don't want to close any doors at this point." He has filed for re-election and is hoping that "something can be worked out" to keep him on the state board. In our view, Hawk should resign from that board. And the Legislature should review this whole episode and rewrite the charter law -- and the bylaws of the state Board of Education -- to ensure that such blatant conflicts are never again allowed.