LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION

Saturday, May 12, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.

The Teachers' Bill of Rights may not be dead on arrival, but it's certainly on life support.

A Senate committee referred Assembly Bill 459 to a work session Wednesday after a motion to advance the legislation failed.

The Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators vigorously oppose the bill, which would give teachers more avenues to defend against charges of misconduct or incompetence. Involuntary transfers and reassignments would also be limited.

Assemblyman Richard "Tick" Segerblom, the bill's author, said the legislation is needed to stem an exodus of unhappy teachers from Nevada.

But Steve Augspurger, executive director of the administrators' association, said the bill would prevent principals from meeting with parents and teachers in a timely fashion to discuss a particular student.

Under the bill, teachers would have to receive 24 hours' notice before such a meeting could occur and could bring someone for support.

"You can imagine how parents are going to react to a union representative sitting there are listening to the discussion that's supposed to be about their child," Augspurger said.

But Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said the bill doesn't supplant existing contracts. Rather, it fills gaps where those agreements fall short of protecting teachers, he said.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, said provisions for negotiated labor agreements already exist in Nevada law.

"Unless someone can convince me differently, those are issues that need to be resolved at the district level by the union on behalf of the teachers," said Washington, chairman of the Senate Human Resources and Education Committee.

Also sent to intensive care was a bill to increase compensation for school boards.

Carolyn Edwards spent more than 150 hours last month on work related to her position as a Clark County School Board member - even after a canceled board meeting and having spent five days out of town.

Nearly half of her time was spent with parents, school officials and community groups, Edwards told a Senate committee. Each week she spent about five to eight hours answering more than 100 e-mails and another five to 10 hours preparing for the twice-monthly School Board meetings, which regularly run from 5:30 p.m. until after 10 p.m.

For this she is paid $80 per meeting, or about $5,000 each year.

"Is it even possible for a working parent to serve on the board?" Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, said.

Edwards said she is among the more fortunate. She's retired and both her sons have graduated, giving her time for School Board responsibilities.

Assembly Bill 70 would allow board members to be compensated as much as $2,000 per month, depending on the size of the district. The financial hurt that education is in "makes its very difficult to say we're going to take money our of our operating budgets for raises," said Sheila Moulton, the association's president and a longtime Clark County School Board member.

There are about 300 open seats at the district's Northwest Career and Technical Academy, which opens in August.

As a result, the deadline to apply for the newest magnet high school was extended till June 1.

The school at West Tropical Parkway and Durango Drive, is aiming for an opening enrollment of 1,020.

There are openings for more than 100 ninth graders and 200 10th graders. Junior and senior classes will be added over the next two school years.

Students at the campus will be able to choose from specialized programs such as culinary arts, engineering, teacher education and construction management.

The district is putting a premium on career and technical education. Unlike traditional vocational programs, the Career and Technical Academy allows students to focus on a specific field of study without sacrificing rigorous academics.

For more information about the academy, call 799-4640.