Spring Valley: Skip classes, get a phone call

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Dec. 19, 2005 | 8:32 a.m.

Every weeknight Spring Valley High School Principal Bob Gerye calls the homes of 200 to 300 of his students to inquire as to why they had been absent from that day's classes.

And nearly every morning Gerye is stopped on campus by students wondering if the principal really has that much free time.

"They say, 'You called my house last night!' " said Gerye with a laugh. "They actually think it was me."

The call is placed by the school's automated attendance system. When teachers enter the day's absences into the system, the phone call -- and Gerye's chipper recorded message -- is activated.

The system can also track how many of the calls are hang-ups.

"Kids slam down the phone as soon as I say 'Hi, this is Bob Gerye,' " the principal said. "Some nights it's 30 percent of the calls."

Spring Valley is one of a handful of campuses that have opted to use some of their technology budget to buy the automated system.

Although students may be intercepting some of the calls before parents get the message, Gerye said, he's hearing from families who appreciate the same-day notification.

While it may be too early to predict whether the school's truancy rate will decline, Gerye is optimistic.

"The kids know somebody is watching them," Gerye said. "We try to do everything we can to make sure somebody knows they were out that day."

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In a Dec. 12 memo, interim Co-Superintendent Agustin Orci informed the Clark County School Board that he had pulled himself out of the race to be the district's next chief executive.

"It has become increasingly apparent to me that the board prefers an out-of-district person to serve as the new superintendent," Orci wrote. "In light of this and other factors, I will not participate further in the current superintendent search process."

Orci was elevated to the co-superintendent role by the School Board in June, along with Walt Rulffes, who had been deputy superintendent of operations. When the new superintendent begins work, expected to be in July, Orci and Rulffes are supposed to return to their prior posts.

But their short-term contract also requires both Orci and Rulffes to inform the School Board if they seek outside employment during the 2005-06 academic year. And in his memo Orci does just that.

"I am actively seeking employment opportunities outside the district at this time," Orci wrote. "Best wishes in your search for a new superintendent."

In an interview with the Sun, Orci said he came to his conclusions about the School Board's intentions after listening to the questions they asked of the two consultants hired to conduct the national search.

His decision to withdraw dumbfounded School District insiders who had seen him as a logical front-runner.

Currently about a dozen large districts -- including Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; and Plano, Texas -- are actively searching for superintendents or have openings coming up soon, according to the Council of Great City Schools. Orci declined to say where he might be looking.

However, he did suggest that he wouldn't be turning into a Red Sox fan anytime soon.

"Too cold," Orci explained with a laugh.

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The state Commission on Educational Excellence will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Las Vegas to further plans for allocating $78 million in grants to the state's public schools.

The money is part of the $100 million pot Gov. Kenny Guinn recommended the 2005 Legislature set aside to improve public education. Of that money, $22 million has already been earmarked for full-day kindergarten programs.

At Tuesday's meeting, the appointed commissioners, led by George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources of the Clark County School District, will set the criteria for judging grant applications.

The final members of the application review teams will also be named.

Under the preliminary formula based on enrollment, Clark County's elementary schools would get $21.6 million and its secondary schools $3.8 million.

The meeting at the Nevada Education Department, 1820 E. Sahara Ave., is open to the public.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.