Black groups want ex-superintendent to be recognized

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

During his tenure as Clark County School District superintendent from 1978 to 1981, Claude Perkins increased graduation and attendance requirements, established a stricter campus dress code and reduced class sizes.

The district also saw gains in student performance on standardized tests, the percentage of women hired as administrators and department heads increased and vocational programs were expanded.

On paper it appears to be a track record that any school administrator would be proud to claim, and one that would make Perkins an obvious choice for the Clark County School Board to honor by naming a school after him.

But of the 301 schools in the district, none bears the name of Perkins, the only black person to hold its highest post.

It has been 24 years since Perkins resigned after clashing publicly with the School Board and other administrators, ruffling feathers with his blunt management style and what some considered thoughtless remarks. He was sharply rebuked for making what some considered insensitive remarks about Hispanic and special education students, as well as teachers.

With the School Board poised to fire him, Perkins handed in a letter of resignation on Sept. 10, 1981.

The political fallout of his departure still lingers, casting a shadow over the numerous strides Perkins made on behalf of public education in Clark County, according to Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce.

"The decision is strictly political," said Overstreet, whose organization has pushed unsuccessfully for several years to see a campus named after Perkins. "It's all about politics and it's a complete disgrace." The Urban Chamber has teamed up with the Coalition of African American Nevadans, which sent a letter last week to Clark County School Board President Larry Mason, asking for a school to be named after Perkins.

"The public recognition of naming a school after Dr. Perkins is past due and should be of the utmost importance," wrote Robert Fowler, president of the caucus.

Mason, chairman of the committee that reviews school names suggestions from the public and makes recommendations to the School Board, said if Perkins' name is submitted he'll be considered.

Mason, who has served on the school naming committee several times during his 10 years on the board, said he was unaware of the controversy surrounding Perkins.

"He'll be treated just like anybody else, equally and fairly," Mason said, noting that seven upcoming schools still need names.

Perkins, currently associate vice president for academic affairs at Albany State University in Georgia, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

After resigning as superintendent Perkins was in charge of the Nevada Department of Commerce. He was later an assistant superintendent in Richmond, Va. and then chief of the Kansas City school district in Missouri.

District regulations allow elementary and middle schools to be named after community leaders, educators and "pioneers." High schools must be named for the geographic region. The exception was Liberty High School, a name approved by the School Board to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

In March the School Board approved new regulations that allowed them to revoke a school name under extraordinary circumstances, such as the namesake being convicted of a serious crime. There was a brief clamoring by some members of the public in 2003 to rename Wendell P. Williams Elementary School, after controversy surfaced over his dual role as an assemblyman and employee of the city of Las Vegas.

When Perkins was superintendent, the district was the nation's 28th largest, with 88,000 students and 111 campuses. Since then Clark County has swelled to over 280,000 students, making it the nation's fifth-largest school district with 301 campuses.

"There are plenty of people who have had schools named after them that have not come close to the reach and impact of Dr. Perkins," said Cordell Stokes, spokesman for Caucus of African American Nevadans. "You're talking about an individual who implemented a successful desegregation plan, recruited minority teachers and student test scores were at a great standing. But every time someone tries to go up and support naming a school after him, it's shot down."

Clark County School Board member Shirley Barber said she would support naming a campus after Perkins.

"He was a very bright man, he worked very hard and we had good successes," Barber said. "Those are the kinds of things we should be looking at when we talk about naming schools. We need to consider what people actually accomplish and how well our students perform, not at how popular or unpopular someone is."