Editorial: Schools need genuine help

Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006 | 7:59 a.m.

The issue of dividing the Clark County School District has risen to the fore again, owing to remarks made by Rep. Jim Gibbons on a TV news show in Reno. Gibbons, the leading Republican candidate for governor, called the district a "huge, huge bureaucracy" and added, "I support the idea that perhaps it is time to break that up into smaller, more manageable school districts."

Only four school districts in the country are larger than Clark County's, whose enrollment will likely break 300,000 by year's end. Of course a school district of that size needs a large staff to support all of its services and programs and ensure compliance with federal and state mandates.

But of all of the problems facing the district, the size of its staff is the least worrisome to us. The "huge bureaucracy" problem was addressed five years ago with the creation of five regions, each with their own separate administrations.

The Legislature's Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, first as an assemblywoman and now as a senator, has tried for 15 years to push through a bill that would deconsolidate the district. And for all of that time the Legislature has taken a dim view of her attempts, for good reasons.

In many areas of the country, school districts in proximity to one another have done the opposite -- consolidate so that economies of scale will bring cost savings and so that duplicate staff positions are no longer necessary.

The most telling argument against deconsolidation, though, is the danger it would bring of inequitable districts. One school district for Southern Nevada enables administrators to secure more federal funding and to ensure, as much as possible, that each school receives its fair share of resources. With five or more school districts scattered about the Las Vegas Valley, we would soon have affluent, middle-class and low-income schools.

Gibbons' position prompted other gubernatorial candidates to weigh in, almost assuring that this will be an issue throughout this year's campaign. Sen. Bob Beers, a conservative Republican like Gibbons, has long supported Tiffany, saying the district is "bound up in bureaucracy." Democratic challenger Jim Gibson, mayor of Henderson, is inclined to favor a breakup, but would want a study done before taking a final stance. Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, a Republican, and Sen. Dina Titus, a Democrat, oppose the idea on the grounds that it would create an even larger bureaucracy.

We are well aware of the district's academic shortcomings and strongly believe that none would be solved by a breakup, a superficial solution. Filling the open teaching positions, to avoid having to rely on 1,300 substitutes a day, and properly funding the district's other academic needs would be among solutions much more central to the issue.