School Board’s math skills come under criticism

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2006 | 12:32 p.m.

Pop quiz: How should the Clark County School District spend $46,000 in private funds designated for training School Board members?

A) On four days with a management consultant.

B) On a six-month contract with a firm teaching largely the same techniques?

The School Board chose the first option, which has some observers wondering if there shouldn't have been a third choice - hire a math teacher who could explain the difference between four days and six months.

Jason Jasonek, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, said he was searching for the logic behind the School Board's decision.

"It seems to me six months worth of services versus four days worth makes more sense," Jasonek said. "Unless there's an underlying reason not being mentioned publicly, it doesn't sound like the smartest way to spend the money."

Under a deal approved by the School Board in a 6-1 vote, consultant John Carver will collect $46,000 to spend four days in Clark County reminding the board how it should conduct its business.

Carver advocates that school board members act as a corporate board of directors representing customers or stakeholders, and that they consider the superintendent the district's chief executive. The goal is to curtail micromanagement by School Board members.

Carver calls his approach "policy governance." The School Board adopted his model in 2000, hiring Carver and his wife, Miriam, to conduct initial training. He has made several follow-up visits to the district, with the associated costs covered by private grants. The latest contract will also be paid with a professional development grant from the private Broad Foundation.

"It's important that the public realize this money isn't coming from the general fund," School Board member Susan Brager-Wellman said. "This is not money being taken away from children. It's dollars specifically allocated for training."

And that training is getting more expensive. Carver charged the district $6,000 a day for three days on his visit two years ago. This time, he sought a daily rate of $8,500, plus expenses, which he said must include lodging at a four-star hotel. His second option - the one the board chose - which was $46,000 for four days, including expenses.

The demand for upscale lodging rankled board member Larry Mason, who voted against hiring Carver.

"I would say a Residence Inn or the Courtyard Marriott would be more appropriate," Mason said. "That's how we travel" as board members.

The School Board nixed hiring Aspen Group International, a leadership development company based in Castle Rock, Colo., to provide four days of workshops plus six months of follow-up services. "We could have had six months, instead we get four or five days," Mason said.

Randy Quinn, Aspen Group founding partner, said Monday he was unaware that his company's bid had been rejected until contacted by the Sun for comment. He added that he was disappointed that the School Board wasn't interested in establishing a contract beyond a few days worth of workshops. "When it's fly in and fly out, with no sustained interaction, there's no way any consultant can provide the kind of services the board needs."

Quinn, who was trained by Carver, said policy governance is "the centerpiece of all our work. We are very consistent with John Carver's philosophy."

Carver could not be immediately reached for comment.

Mason said he had been pleased by the quality of Aspen Group's services, which included a two-day School Board retreat to Mount Charleston in the fall. Since 2001 the district has paid Aspen $28,338 for consulting services, according to the district's business office. Of those payments, grants covered all but $600.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but when it came time to vote, School Board President Ruth Johnson said she wanted to hire the original.

"When we have the opportunity to work directly with Dr. Carver, it loses less in translation," Johnson said Monday. "And we like the rigor of his approach. It's never to find a way to make what we want happen; his job is to make sure that whatever we're doing we're consistent with the model."

But Mason said he wondered why the School Board would invite Carver back when it has yet to put into place important suggestions from his last visit in 2004. At that time Carver told the School Board it was delving too deeply into day-to-day operations.

"Get out of curriculum, stop seeing it as your business - all you can do is goof it up," Carver told the School Board. "If the people you hire can't run the system, you've hired the wrong people."

Carver also said the School Board's meetings were bogged down by unnecessary ceremony, including presentations by student groups and frequent announcements of awards and accolades.

Two years later the School Board appears ready to address at least part of Carver's concern. The members agreed Thursday to add two daytime meetings to the monthly roster strictly for business matters.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at [email protected].