Drug testing students might spread beyond Green Valley

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Test student athletes for drugs? Coronado High School Principal Lee Koelliker is looking into it.

Last month Green Valley High School became the first public campus in Nevada to subject athletes to random drug testing as a condition of playing sports.

Koelliker said he’s had preliminary meetings with his student advisory committee and will broach the subject with Coronado parents in coming weeks.

Most students have been receptive, Koelliker said. He’s heard a few complaints from athletes who don’t think it’s fair that they’d be the only group targeted, but they are the only ones that the U.S. Supreme Court will allow to be tested.

Across town at Palo Verde High School, Principal Dan Phillips said he has no plans to follow suit, although he admires Green Valley Principal Jeff Horn for being the first to take the plunge.

“I don’t think we have a problem with our athletes at this point. I don’t think we need it,” Phillips said of random testing. “But I’m sure interested in seeing how it goes over there.”

None of the student athletes at Green Valley has tested positive for illegal substances.

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Four years ago Vegas PBS began offering Clark County teachers what was then cutting-edge technology: video-on-demand and video streaming services via the Internet.

On Monday Vegas PBS announced the teacher responsible for downloading the one-millionth video: Jon Ford, a seventh grade social studies teacher at the Preparatory Institute for Academic Excellence at Charles I. West Hall, formerly known as West Middle School. The identity of the teacher was revealed at the school Monday. The presentation included some high-tech goodies for the lucky educator’s classroom.

The Clark County School Board holds the broadcasting license for Vegas PBS, formerly known as KLVX Channel 10. The station, which operates independently of the School District, includes eight broadcast channels, as well as on-demand educational programming and network services.

The Vegas PBS search engine arranges the clips by subject matter and grade level. Teachers also can look for materials that mesh with the state’s curriculum objectives.

“When I went to school in the ’60s they turned out the lights and put on a film projector and we lost half a day of instruction,” said Tom Axtell, general manager of Vegas PBS. “What teachers want today is a five-minute clip that visually illustrates the point.”

And what was the winning video that illustrated teacher Ford’s point?

“Discover Magazine: Engineering Secrets.”

• • •

The Clark County School District is asking the public how the district can meet Gov. Jim Gibbons’ calls for school budget cuts.

Gibbons initially promised that K-12 education funding would be protected from cuts. He now is recommending shaving 4.5 percent.

The district, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the state’s student population, is being asked to trim roughly $66 million from its operating budget. In an online survey that launched Monday, the public is asked to rank the educational programs that should be first to go, and those that deserve to be spared. (You can participate at http://ccsd.net.)

“Do you agree with the governor’s request to reduce the public education budget?” the survey asks. “If there are other funds available during this budget shortfall (rainy day funds, state construction projects, $40 million in unanticipated revenue from the State Treasurer’s Office and other designated contingency funds), should the governor expend those funds instead of cutting funds for education?”

The district also offers a list of ways to offset the effect of the budget cuts, including shortening the academic year, making students pay for sports, increasing class sizes and raising the fees the public pays for using school facilities after hours. Cutting the number of instructional days would require approval from the state.

The survey will stay up for about 10 days, then the district’s community and government relations office will compile the results.