Editorial: Schools need ‘real’ vision

Monday, Jan. 3, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

It's becoming clear where newly elected state Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, will be focusing much of his attention once the 2005 Legislature begins its session in February. He is on a drive to involve himself heavily in education, particularly in the areas of micro-management and cost-cutting.

Last month he said he intends to introduce a bill that would require all of the state's high schools to open no earlier than 8 a.m. Some studies have suggested that teenagers are not physically capable of peak performance early in the morning. But this is debatable. The high schools in Minneapolis, for example, established later start times in 1997 but so far have shown little in the way of academic improvement. The Clark County School District, with an enrollment of more than 280,000 students, juggles its too-few buses among the varying schedules of high schools, middle schools and grade schools. If high schools were to start at 8 a.m. instead of 7:10 a.m., dozens of new school buses, costing millions, would be needed.

Beers is also targeting administrators, saying the school district has too many and that they have little interaction with students. Given the multitude of federal and state educational mandates, we should be happy for the barely adequate numbers of administrators we have. They save teachers -- the ones who should be interacting with students -- from having to spend precious time on required reports and other necessary paperwork. With administration accounting for only 3 percent of the Clark County School District's $1.6 billion operating budget, we don't see this as an issue requiring legislative attention.

Additionally, Beers is contemplating a bill that would break up the Clark County district into several districts. This has been rejected several times by past Legislatures, largely on the grounds that a unified district is the best chance for each student to receive an equitable education, and it's more economical by far.

We wish Beers would focus on the real problems of schools in Nevada, such as the overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages that contribute heavily to consistently mediocre academic achievements.