Higher teacher salaries urged during forum

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

The Clark County School District should raise teacher salaries, fix up older urban campuses and reduce class sizes, members of the public said Wednesday.

A small but lively group gathered at Keller Middle School for the second of seven forums sponsored by the Clark County School Board, each on a different topic.

Wednesday's panelists included Hannah Brown, president of the Urban Chamber of Commerce, and Ken Lange, executive director of the Nevada State Education Association.

With the district's starting teacher salaries hovering at $28,000, it's understandable that there's a "revolving door," Brown said.

"I don't care how you recruit or where you recruit, at less than $30,000 salaries we're going to have problems," Brown said.

If Clark County students are to reach their full potential, funding levels must increase, Lange told the audience of about two dozen people.

The ESEA is pushing a ballot initiative that calls for the Legislature to fund the state's public schools at the national average. Nevada's per-pupil funding level is about $1,500 below the national average.

"The question is: 'Does money make a difference,' and the answer is, 'You bet it does,"' Lange said.

A large number of states with higher average per-pupil expenditures also have higher scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a benchmark test given annually to a cross-section of the country's public schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

"There is a straight-line relationship," Lange said. "We're not enthralled with the idea of using any one test to judge achievement, but it is a way to take a snapshot."

But Sherri Walton, whose daughter is a seventh grader at Keller, questioned Lange's comparison of Nevada to states like Massachusetts and Ohio that spend more on their students and also have higher average test scores.

"Aren't there demographic differences that are also affecting test scores?" Walton asked. "It's not just the money making a difference."

Kara Kelley, president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, said polls indicate many people would also like to see schools funded at the national average but aren't interested in paying for it.

It's impossible to attract companies with high-paying jobs unless the community can offer an educated, quality workforce, Kelley said.

But while the Chamber of Commerce supports efforts to improve public education, it doesn't agree with the ESEA's approach, Kelley said.

"Our main opposition is to a constitutional amendment that ties the hands of the Legislature and precludes them from doing the job they were elected to do," Kelley said.

There were some suggestions from both panelists and audience members on how to stretch the district's existing education funding even further.

Jerry Peterson of Nevada Concerned Citizens, a conservative political advocacy group, said as a retired businessman he isn't convinced the schools are getting the most "bang for the buck." One way to raise funds -- without raising taxes -- would be to shave 5 percent off the existing $1.6 billion operating budget and use the money to hire more teachers, Peterson said.

"We should ask the schools, 'If we were able to get you more teachers and reduce class sizes, what would you be willing to do without?"' Peterson said.

Another untapped revenue source could be the construction contractors used to build the district's campuses, said Skip Rapoport, who has a son and daughter attending Silverado High School.

When contractors hire out-of-state laborers to do the work, the district should get a rebate, Rapoport said.

"Go look at the construction parking lots and you'll see a lot of out-of-town license plates," Rapoport said. "Those workers are going home to another state to spend their money instead of the local businesses benefitting."

The third community forum is to be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Lawrence Middle School, 4410 S. Juliano St. to discuss extracurricular activities.