Sheriff wants to keep police in place on campuses

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Aug. 18, 2008 | 2 a.m.

School Board candidate John Schutt thinks Clark County School District Police have “outlived their usefulness,” and that Metro Police officers spend too much time patrolling campuses.

That’s news to Schutt’s boss — Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.

Schutt, a 10-year veteran of the department, is challenging incumbent Terri Janison for the District E seat on the School Board. They were the top-two finishers in last week’s primary. Janison secured just more than 50 percent of the vote; Schutt had 19 percent.

At a news conference Friday, Gillespie reiterated the importance of all Las Vegas Valley law enforcement agencies’ working together to ensure a safe start to the new academic year. And that includes district police, Gillespie told the Sun.

“We have always had a very good relationship with school police,” Gillespie said.

As for whether the department should be dissolved or merged into Metro, “I don’t think anybody has thoughts in that direction,” Gillespie said. “At least not at my level, and as far as I’m aware, not at the superintendent’s level.”

Clark County Superintendent Walt Rulffes told the Sun he has no plans to disband district police and favors more partnerships with other municipal law enforcement agencies, “to the benefit of all.”

At the news conference at Clark High School’s football field, Gillespie announced several new initiatives aimed at “making sure this school year is that much safer than last year.”

The 2007-08 academic year was one of the more violent in recent memory, particularly for gun crimes. The school safety push will include public service announcements featuring law enforcement and district students, emphasizing “schools will not be as safe as they need to be if we do not have community support,” Gillespie said.

Oliver Recarte, a senior at Western High School, said he thinks both district police and Metro officers need to be visible at campuses.

“More people doing the job is better,” said Recarte, who is featured in one of the public service announcements.

•••

At the orientation sessions for new teachers, held at Cox Pavilion, vendors and representatives of community organizations set out baskets and dishes of miniature candies to lure passers-by into stopping for a closer look.

But what’s this lavish spread at the Vegas PBS table? Full-size chocolate bars and bags of Skittles? Entire rolls of Mentos? How is it that the public television affiliate can afford such largesse?

The candy was paid for with money from the U.S. Education Department.

Craig Cuddihy, a coordinator at Vegas PBS, wrote the successful $43,000 grant, which is helping the station advertise its accredited continuing education classes for teachers. It took Vegas PBS two years to get all of its courses vetted and approved, Cuddihy said.

PBS TeacherLine offers courses in reading, language arts, instructional technology and strategies, science and math, in grades prekindergarten through high school. More information is available at vegaspbs.org/teacherline.

And how much of the grant money did he spend on candy?

“You are looking at $200.16,” Cuddihy said with a laugh.

•••

When the new school year begins Aug. 25, parents will find it easier to keep track of their children’s attendance and academic performance.

For years, many district campuses have offered parents an online peek into the classroom, with teachers posting daily attendance reports, as well as homework assignments and test results. But schools could use a variety of online programs, and the lack of uniformity was often a source of frustration for parents with children attending different campuses. Beginning this month, all of the district’s 350 schools will use ParentLink, an online system that shows everything from daily attendance to the balance in the student’s cafeteria account.

And home Internet access isn’t a requirement. ParentLink can also be accessed via telephone.