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Diane Striegel, left, a Chaparral High School parent and staff member, pickets outside the Vegas Public Broadcasting Station where administrators were being trained Monday, June 14, 2010. Striegel said she was concerned about administrators losing their jobs even after union concessions and also about elementary school administration being moved into high school jobs.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
Sun archives
- Jim Rogers offers to lead Clark County School District for free (6-9-2010)
- Clark County teachers sweating out the budget crisis (4-22-2010)
- ‘Almost catastrophic’ budget cuts on horizon for Clark County schools (4-22-2010)
- Clark County teachers face peer pressure on furloughs (4-9-2010)
- School Board rejects moving schools to nine-month calendar (3-26-2010)
- Year-round schools could face calendar shift to save money (3-16-2010)
- Teachers resist increasing pressure to accept pay cuts (2-5-2010)
- Budget crunch puts shorter school year, teacher pay cuts on table (2-4-2010)
- Gibbons: School districts should brace for 10 percent cuts (2-2-2010)
Sun Archives
Beyond the Sun
With the Clark County School District eliminating nearly 90 assistant principal and dean positions to save money, employees will be reassigned to work with either elementary or high school students for the first time in their careers.
That doesn’t sit well with some district employees, including Diane Striegel, a secretary at Chaparral High School, which is losing one of its assistant principals and both of its deans to reassignment.
Although many school administrators want to move among elementary, middle and high school assignments, it’s typically a matter of personal choice rather than a side effect of a massive fiscal crisis.
“I have concerns about elementary school assistant principals suddenly being high school deans, especially when it’s not a choice they made on their own,” said Striegel, who organized a modest sidewalk protest Monday outside the district’s new technology campus on Flamingo Road. “It’s a whole different mentality working with older kids, and not everyone is cut out for it.”
Striegel said her concern goes beyond Chaparral, where she’s not only an employee but also a parent. Her three older children graduated from Chaparral, and the youngest will be a senior in the fall.
“The district is making these decisions based on seniority and not what’s best for the students — not just students at Chaparral, but at all the schools,” Striegel said. “There’s no logic to it.”
Striegel, accompanied by a small band of staff and students from Chaparral, gathered near the Vegas PBS building, waving handmade signs reading “Save our administration.” Inside, the reassigned employees were starting a three-day crash course designed to prepare them for their new assignments — whatever they may end up being.
As required by the district’s contract with the administrators union, the reassignments are based solely on seniority, and do not distinguish between elementary and secondary positions.
As a result of eliminating 89 school administrator positions, dozens of employees are being reshuffled.
The district is sending 46 deans and 43 assistant principals — two secondary and 41 elementary — back to classroom teaching positions. Additionally, 38 assistant principals will be moved to new administrative positions that are either in lower salary ranges or require shorter contracts.
From that group, nine secondary assistant principals will become elementary assistant principals and 18 elementary principals will become deans at either middle or high schools. There are also 11 secondary assistant principals who will become secondary deans.
The steepest learning curve will be for administrators moving from elementary to secondary campuses, and vice versa.
“They certainly will have some procedures and processes to brush up on, which is why we’re having the three days of training,” said Martha Tittle, the district’s chief human resources officer.
She acknowledged that the changes might be disruptive in the short term to campus life, but added she thinks the administrators would have the “confidence, knowledge and expertise” to do their new jobs.
“We have a lot of challenges, and one of the things that we have to learn to work through is changes we don’t necessarily have control over,” Tittle said. “But we learn to adapt, even though we might be disappointed.”
And some of that disappointment might well be short term. With other administrators expected to retire over the summer, it’s possible some who are being reassigned this week will end up back in their original job classifications when classes resume in August.
Tittle said she supports categorizing administrators as K-12 — as required by the state’s licensing procedures — rather than separating them by grade level. The broader definition gives employees the most opportunities for career advancement, as they can apply for a wider range of positions rather than being limited to elementary or secondary campuses, Tittle said.
Kevin McPartlin, principal of Chaparral, said he’s heard from dozens of students and staff concerned about the reassignment of his assistant principal and both deans, who represent 50 percent of his senior administrative team.
“This is going to impact the effectiveness of our school, especially in the fall,” McPartlin said. “There’s going to be a learning curve for whoever steps in.”
McPartlin said he doesn’t know who his new administrators will be, and he’s hopeful that as the dust settles over the summer he’ll be able to hold on to Ron Guerzon, his assistant principal.
But McPartlin, a member of the administrators union, said he is well aware of the contract’s specifics, and understands that the district’s decisions are driven by the fiscal crisis. “By contract, the union has to protect its membership,” McPartlin said. “Sometimes that means making the best of a bad decision.”
Students from Chaparral High School picket outside the Vegas Public Broadcasting Station where administrators were being trained Monday, June 14, 2010. Protesters said they were concerned about administrators losing their jobs even after union concessions and about elementary school administration being moved into high school jobs.
He also supports the independent decision by students and staff to demonstrate their dissatisfaction Monday.
“We encourage our students all the time to get more involved, and this seemed like a good opportunity for them to put some of that into practice,” McPartlin said. “The kids are trying to do something about the situation, and I think that’s outstanding.”
Ashley Trudell, who will be a junior at Chaparral in August, said she took part in the protest out of concern that the newly assigned administrators won’t have the necessary high school experience. Guerzon started at Chaparral as a teacher and worked his way up through the ranks, winning the respect of students along the way, Trudell said.
All three of the administrators being reassigned “have the desire to be at Chap — they have Cowboy pride,” Trudell said. “They want to work with high school kids and it shows in the way they interact with students.”
Administrators aren’t the only School District employees dealing with reassignment.
The district will increase class sizes in grades 1-3, eliminating the need for about 540 classroom teachers. As of this week, all but two of the affected teachers had been placed in alternate assignments.
At the secondary level, about 12 to 15 high school teachers remain unassigned, after budget cuts or expected declines in enrollment resulted in their positions being eliminated. The majority of those teachers have specialized business and industry licenses to teach career courses, which means they are only qualified for a limited number of positions. Among the support staff about 50 people — out of the more than 300 informed in May that their jobs had been cut — are still looking for new positions.
Chaparral High School has seen better days.
Once among the top performing schools in the Clark County School District, Chaparral High is undergoing changes to counter dismal test scores and the lowest graduation rate in the district.
The campus located near East Flamingo Road and U.S. 95 is one of five turnaround schools not meeting the expectations outlined in No Child Left Behind.
Chaparral is now looking to clean up its reputation, touching every aspect of the school from restrooms to test scores.
Changes weren’t received well by students who openly protested the cuts to faculty and the new order that banned the use of cell phones and music players during the school day.
Under stricter rules, tardy students are locked out of classrooms, bathroom breaks during class time aren’t allowed and the lunch hour was pushed back to 1:40 p.m.
Superintendent Dwight Jones told students he’s not settling for half successes.
“Right now, 50 percent of the kids in this school don’t graduate high school. Is that acceptable to you? Think about that. Right now, some of the friends that you’re with aren’t going to graduate. Is that OK? That’s unacceptable to me. I think you guys ought to kick all of us out.”
- Year built:
- 1971
- Mascot:
- Cowboys
- Principal (Year Hired):
- David Wilson (2011)
- Enrollment:
- Approximately 2,250
- School Report Card:
- 2010-2011
Compiled by Gregan Wingert
Parents--there's no money. You can't just print money like they did in Zimbabwe.
I would be grateful I had a job.
Welcome to the real world. In a traditional business setting, people are reassigned all of the time,sometimes to a new state.
My wife is an assistant principle in East Texas but I would still say that most of these school districts are personnel heavy. When the tax money was flowing it was not a problem but as most of us know times have changed. I would expect most school employees to resist this course of action because it goes against their agenda. I have witnessed this at our local schools and always say where did all of these people come from and what do they do? Look at most organizations today that are not businesses and they are all top heavy. They have no choice but to cut.
employees will be reassigned to work with either elementary or high school students for the first time in their careers....
Maybe here is the problem with our school system, leadres who have never worked with children/students. I have such little respect for this county school system. This is a perfect example of what happens where you throw money at problems over the years without addressing them. Most admin. people in Clark co. are women of a certain race who feel and act entitled.
WDM - maybe you should read the whole article and maybe The Sun should have worded the statement better. There are secondary administrators who will be moving to elementary schools without ever working in an elementary school and vice versa. To get into the leadership program for CCSD, you have to have taught in a classroom for five years (it used to be three years).
There are significant adjustments that some of these administrators are going to have to make. Breaking up a fight between two ten-year olds is nothing compared to breaking up a fight consisting of several teenagers.
What the article should be focusing on is why are all these cuts happening at the school level and not the central/regional offices?
What you should be complaining about is that these cuts are based on seniority and not quality? There are plenty of good, new administrators and some bad administrators with plenty of seniority. The problem with education isn't all about funding; it is with the unions/associations who are protecting the wrong employees.
Good point WDM. Also, maybe it would be better to hire qualified teachers who are currently unemployed than re-assign administrators? Duh. Our kids need better!
Let Rogers run it all and fire this inept school board.
Very much agree, VegasVeniceDude. Not sure why we can't just get rid of people if we don't need them. They can re-apply for the available positions, but we need to hire the best candidates for the job, not just reassign someone because they're already in the system.
After reading this I'm kind of warming up to Sharron Angle's desire to do away with the Department of Education entirely.
"Let Rogers run it all and fire this inept school board"
Rogers knows how to run a business and knows the right way to spend money.
Can't fire the board though guys, You voted to put them into office!
Next time find a better reason to vote in some of those running instead of just trying to get rid of those you don't like.
I used to hear the NCLB being demonized as a program lacking funding. The criticism is gone now that the "low funding money sums" have dried up.
This is all a great idea. In the business world we are reassigned the same way yet we don't gripe about it. We embrace it and look for the opportunities that the new job afords. We adapt to the new role. I think these administrators should be eager to touch a childs life. Sure it will be harder work, but more rewarding in the end. Nothing in life is gaurenteed to stay the same. I guess I learned how to be optimistic from someone.....now will someone teach these administrators and their picketters to be optimistic.
midnight, the problem is that we need experienced teachers in our district. We can't afford to have people that don't have the skills, or the interest, teaching our kids. I think this will only reduce the quality of our education system.
It's about time we started to trim the fat from the district. Use the money to educate our kids and not keep some fat cat.
Isn't it interesting the school district just had an offer from a very successful businessman and a past regent for UNLV to work for free for the next three years. Instead a district strapped for cash is spending thousands of dollars to find a new superintendent of schools. It just shows how smart the people running the district really are.
jemster, not sure how I feel about Rogers. I'm worried that he's an insider that won't be firm enough with the unions. I think we need major reforms, and the changes that are necessary are going to make a lot of people/groups upset.
I am teacher who will testify that CCSD has too many adminstrators and specialists. I am glad for hard times so that we can cut the waste.
I don't supose anyone picked up on the INCORRECT abbreviated SPELLING of the word Administrator (AbMIN) on the sign that: " Diane Striegel, left, Chaparral High School parent and staff member" - is carrying.
I wonder what the quality of education is in a classroom where a teacher will use a "b" instead of "d" in spelling a word.
The picture above shows a pretty obvious difference on Diane's BIG SIGN - and she is standing next to other big signs with the SAME WORD - spelled correctly.
It would appear that either Diane could care less, doesn't know any better, or maybe that is how you spell it in spanish.
The sign Diane Striegel is holding has a capital D not a b in the spelling, if you are going to go off in a rant at least double check yourself first.
While I agree that administration in this district needs to be reduced, it is the administrators that are actively dealing with the students and parents that are being affected. I would rather see my tax money spent on the adults that are directly working with the kids and community, they affect these kids lives daily.
Chaparral is a school with a less than ideal public image and the people that work there have worked hard to gain the trust of the kids and parents. Almost every teacher/administrator there puts in long hours above what is required to help provide a school the students can be proud of (some have nothing else). Changing so many of their administrators at one time will reverse years of progress the administration has worked so hard to obtain. The students are just beginning to feel safe on their campus and show pride in their school. Changing two of their deans and the AP will create chaos, like someone else said--there is a big difference in how to handle a discipline problem between elementary and high school.
There are three administrators being moved at Chap. That seems like an large amount for one school. Just down the street at the elementary school the assistant principal is being reassigned as well. This just seems to me to be a large number of positions eliminated or reassigned in one small area. I wonder if this is happening to the schools in the neighborhoods where the parents have more money. I know the parents are more involved in better neighborhoods and thus are able to get more things for their children, so who is fighting for the kids in the more economically challenged neighborhoods as they say goodbye to the adults who have tried to make their lives better.
The kids are being shafted. What's the chance that nobody with money cares about those little ones?
They got theirs. So what?
My God! What a novel and revolutionary concept: putting school employees in contact with students. What new ideas will they come with to top this?