Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Published Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009 | 6:35 p.m.
Updated Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 | 12:42 p.m.
Glen Taylor Elementary School
Sun Coverage
Parents of Glen Taylor Elementary School students in Henderson are suing the Clark County School District in hopes of returning the school to a nine-month schedule.
In a lawsuit filed this week in Clark County District Court, the parents said the district hasn't justified why Taylor will continue on a year-round schedule. They say enrollment is declining and the school's students and school programs can be accommodated with a nine-month schedule that the families prefer.
The district doesn't comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said Thursday.
The plaintiff in the suit is Kristin Cenname, who says she represents other concerned parents. The suit was filed by attorney Gregory Cortese.
Cortese said Friday that he's been in contact with 15 to 20 Taylor families about the year-round issue.
"It's a unified effort," he said.
The school is at 2655 Sienna Heights Drive, near the intersection of Eastern Avenue and St. Rose Parkway.
The suit says the school switched to a year-round schedule beginning with the 2007-2008 school year and that the year-round program is planned to continue through 2009-2010 even though the parents say it's not needed.
The parents say enrollment was projected at 922 students for the current year, but ended up totaling 852 students. Cortese said that as he understands the district's numbers, it can accommodate 867 students with a traditional nine-month program.
The year-round schedule "is not supported by the data" and Taylor currently has unused capacity, the attorney said.
"It doesn't make sense," Cortese said.
Cortese said he hopes the court will hold a hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order against the district prior to the start of the nine-month school year on Aug. 24.
Parents at Glen Taylor say they're being treated unfairly because enrollment at 22 schools elsewhere in the district exceeds capacity, yet those 22 schools are allowed to remain on a nine-month schedule. The lawsuit says the constitutional rights of the parents and students have been violated because of this allegedly unfair treatment.
The suit says the parents have been stymied in efforts to meet with district officials to discuss the issue and see the district's data justifying the year-round program, which they contend is more expensive than a nine-month schedule.
School district zoning and demographics committees and district officials "made the decision to remain on the more expensive schedule behind closed doors and without the input of parents or the public without adequate information," the suit charges.
Nice. Backroom deals made without involving the most important stake-holders -the families. How Las Vegas.
I am a regular critic of the CCSD. However, I am also critical of lawyers who file "born to lose" lawsuits.
It is a basic principle of the soverignty/executive power of state agencies, including CCSD, that they are allowed unfettered discretion in making what amounts to "business decisions", such as which schools are on year round session.
While equal protection is a nice theory, courts generally won't apply it to overturn business decisions of public officials. Under the Nevada Constitution, all a student is entitled to is a free public education; not a free public education in a 9 month school.
Sad but true.
Last time I looked Clark County District Court is not populated by brave, flaming liberal constitutionalist judges, so I would tell these parents the case is a sure loser...unless they or their lawyer have special "juice" with the judge.
If you don't like the year-round schedule, move to a community that has its schools on a 9-month calendar. If more parents decide to move out, CCSD will be forced to change the schedule to a 9-month program.
Remember -- No Guts - No Glory.
"constitutional rights of the parents and students have been violated because of this allegedly unfair treatment."
Someone must have torn some pages out of my copy of the constitution. Since when is 12 month school laid out in the constitution?
If they can run a 9 month school there great but someone is reaching big time to bring the constitution into this one.
CCSDteacher,
Are you a proponent of a year round schedule? I am a teacher and can't see the point. The year round schedule is crap. It only puts more money in the pockets of administrators. Given our current budget problems this is the first thing that should change. If you don't have roving (meaning a teacher that doesn't have a classroom) teachers, which most 12 month schools don't, then there is no reason to be on a 12 month schedule.
I agree with the other author that said this is a bogus lawsuit, but I hope it brings attention to the vast money wasting practice that our district engages in.
OMG... who the heck cares? Don't like year round schools? Sign your child up at a nine month school instead. Sick of these crybabies and frivolous lawsuits.
12 months vs 9 months,yea put them back to 9 months because too much school time will hurt them.look american children are being passed by every other countries school system because education is year round.face it folks your kids are dumb,just ask them 3 or 4 general questions tonight about the world and get ready for some really dumb answers.most don't know the 50 states,most think africa is a country,most can't make change for a twenty dollar bill even when the register tells them the amount,and 99 out of 100 don't know the 3 branches of our government,yet this woman wants her dummies to go to school less because her's are so smart. people lets face it we all love our kids but education in this country is now a business not the learning institution it once was it is purely a business where the teachers and their unions have all of the say,stand up for your children and give them the best to compete with the best.this downward trend in educating our children did not happen overnight it has taken years to get this bad and if your children have to stay in school and learn well remember they have to support themselves someday so why not give them a great education to start with and give them a summer break like spring break and Christmas break.i would have expected the kids to gripe a little but for the mom to be complaining proves she is a knucklehead.someone please buy this lawsuit nut a tivo so her kids can see all of the tv they missed while they were in school.lets give our kids a chance at a great life,quit saying average is good enough.
BillM,
You just shoved your foot so far down your own throat it'll take a proctologist to help you. Before going on and on and on and on about how dumb everybody else is, make sure you understand what "12 month school" is. The amount of calendar days spent in the class room is the same as nine month school. I don't know precisely how it works in the CCSD, but to generalize: instead of nine months of school and three months off for summer, 12-month schools have kids go to school for six weeks, take two off, and then repeat...ALL YEAR LONG. This gives working parents extra scheduling issues every two weeks. It also detracts from the school community, as different kids are on separate tracks. But total days spent in the classroom is the same.
CCSDTeacher,
Why should a family have to move out their home and to a different neighborhood just to be able to have their children in a normal school environment??? Surely you're joking, though I don't see humor or point. Especially with the "no guts, no glory" quip.
Glen Taylor is only designed for about 730 students. CCSDTeacher needs to realize there are other factors to consider in schedules at elementary schools. Students need enought space to eat lunch, and for PE, Music, Library, and Art. Also, according to Nevada's constitution, students must attend school for 180 days per year. There is no requirement as far as the schedule is concerned. The lawyer is just taking the parents money.
ya bill,
You are a dunazzz. You get the same amount of school, but for more of your tax dollar. Feel free to rethink and then repost. Knowledge is king!!!
There is no guarantee that moving to a district with the 9 month schedule won't won't change to year round.
Year round is inconvenient, costly, and I think it's unfair to have students in a classroom during these extremely hot summer days. It is too hot for recess, too hot to concentrate, and certainly too hot for kids to be walking to and from school.
Perhaps if they point to safety issues they may have something here.
This lawsuit is not so much over being 9 month or 12 month...it's about the wasted money year after year for the schools that do not meet the capacity for 12 month school. Every year that a school is run as 12 month that does NOT have to, the district wastes $250,000.00! Why in the world would they not put the 12 schools that were revealed by News 3 back to 9 month that should have never been at 12 month, so that we can save $3 MILLION dollars a year! Instead they want to cut teachers salaries and take away programs for our children. This isn't about selfish parents wanting what's best for them, it's about certain indivduals running our school district that only look out for their own salaries, not for our children!
Honestly,do you really think the administrators who decide when schools are on 12 month schedules get paid more. They already work 12 months per year, so their pay is not affected. Children learn just fine in the Summer. Ever hear of Summer School, and the district has been doing year round schools now for over 25 years. They have often switched from year round to 9 month schools when necessary. However, it is never an easy decision. I have begun school years at schools with projected enrollments of 750 students and ended up with 950. This year will be really interesting, since there are so many people being displaced by forclosures. Most are not leaving the city, in fact enrollment is still expected to grow by 3000 students. Many schools near appartments and trailer parks, as well as low income housing will see growth. This is probably why Glenn Taylor will be year round this year.
Pattina,
Your posts read like you're a shill for the school district.
"Many schools near appartments and trailer parks, as well as low income housing will see growth. This is probably why Glenn Taylor will be year round this year."
WRONG! Glenn Taylor is in the Green Valley Ranch, neighborhood, one of the nicest in the Valley.
You've started school years with "750 students and ended up with 950?" I guarantee that won't be happening at Glen Taylor in '09-10. Furthermore, please provide some links or evidence that "enrollment is still expected to grow by 3000 students." Where on earth are these students coming from? Without compromising who she is, one elementary school office manager told me elementary schools are losing enrollment as many Hispanic families are abandoning Las Vegas. Political commentator Chuck Muth has commented that Clark County is losing population and I've read in Forbes that the number is 3,000 people per month. This would seem to fly in the face of your assertions.
As for "children learn just fine in the summer," how about addressing Henderson's points that it's too hot for recess and too hot to have children walking to and from school? Why should any child be subjected to -heck, unnecessarily ENDANGERED by- being forced to walk home at 2:30 in the afternoon when it can be 115 degrees?
DTJ
I do not totally disagree with your post. However, many schools are seeing enrollment increase in normally upscale neighborhoods. This is because there are many forclosures being purchased by investors, who are then renting these homes they bought on the cheep for $1200 per month. I work at one of these schools, and our enrollment has really picked up. We were projected to have around 690 students, but now are approaching 750. The big question mark is, how many families have just picked up and left before the start of the year without dis enrolling, and picking up their kids records?
We will not know this until count day. In the meantime, every day in our office-whole families are showing up and registering their kids.