Hispanic parents criticize School District

Friday, April 29, 2005 | 9:55 a.m.

A group of Hispanic parents sharply criticized the quality of education students receive in the Clark County School District's east region Thursday, saying their children aren't learning English quickly enough.

Calling themselves the "Left-Behind-No-More Parents Committee," about 15 people showed up for the public comment portion of the Clark County School Board meeting. Andres Mendoza, who has two children in Clark County schools, addressed the School Board as the group's spokesman.

For the past five years, Mendoza said, parents have waited for Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Agustin Orci and East Region Superintendent Maurice Flores to make significant improvements in the education of second-language students.

"It is an embarrassment to us, parents in the Latino community, to have Hispanics in positions of leadership and with charge and authority to improve the conditions for our Spanish-speaking youth and yet, have failed to implement the programs needed," Mendoza said.

With Garcia resigning and Flores retiring in July, the time has come for the district and parents to take action, Mendoza said.

"It is time to clean house and appoint new leadership not only to replace the superintendent upon his leaving but also some of his administration that have failed us," Mendoza said.

The situation is so bad that parents are moving from the east region of Las Vegas, which has the highest percentage of Hispanics, to Henderson in the hopes finding schools with better instruction for their children, Mendoza said.

The group also asked to have four representatives on a selection committee to find a replacement for Orci, as well as Garcia and Flores.

Garcia said he appreciated the concerns expressed by Mendoza but said the parents are targeting the wrong people for criticism.

The district's English Language Learner students have shown improved test scores and graduation rates in recent years, Garcia said. But keeping up with the demands of the soaring student population has been difficult, especially since Nevada is one of only 12 states that doesn't provide extra funding for English Language Learners, Garcia said.

"We could do a lot more if we had more money to work with," Garcia said. "You can only stretch a dollar so far."