Editorial: A lesson in geography

Thursday, July 12, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

Clark County School District administrators have become globetrotters in their efforts to recruit teachers, which is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Nevada's public education system.

With Las Vegas' incredible growth, the School District has the unenviable task of trying to hire 3,000 teachers a year to work in a state that has not supported schools very well. So recruiters have not only traveled across the United States looking for applicants, but as reported in Monday's Las Vegas Sun by Emily Richmond, administrators have traveled to the Philippines, Guam, Spain, Canada and Puerto Rico.

It simply is not easy to hire a teacher in Las Vegas. Of course, it can be difficult to hire a teacher anywhere in America, given that teacher requirements have stiffened under the No Child Left Behind Act. And the pay, already low, has not increased to be commensurate with the requirements.

Las Vegas was once one of the more affordable urban areas in the country, but during the past few years that has changed. The cost of living has skyrocketed while salaries have remained flat. The School District is scrambling for ways to find teachers affordable housing, and the nonprofit Public Education Foundation is trying to build housing for teachers to help in the recruiting effort.

Additionally, the state has never adequately funded schools, so potential teachers may not be terribly impressed by the facilities or programs, much less the pay.

There have been efforts to train Southern Nevadans to be teachers. The School District has worked to recruit and train retirees and people from other careers, and Nevada State College was founded with a mission to train teachers. The bottom line, however, is there are too many open positions.

The state could go a long way in recruiting by being more supportive of our schools and by spending more money on classroom resources and facilities. As well, teachers should be paid a salary that reflects the importance of their task - educating our children.