LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) -The Nevada Board of Education continued its discussion Thursday, March 17 about what to do with the Clark County School District as the district continues to be out of compliance with a state law from the 2017 legislative session.
It is state law CCSD knows they are breaking. There is too much power at the central office and not with individual schools and principals.
“They have to comply with the law. It’s the law,” said Tam Larnerd, former principal of Bob Miller Middle School and Spring Valley High School, a CCSD employee for 27 years. His testimony was read at a meeting of the Nevada Department of Education in support for AB469.
“All of this happened in the legislature to prevent breaking up the Clark County School District. They passed AB469 to create individual school precincts that would have autonomy… Principals deserve the autonomy to be able to hire the staff, the teachers, support staff, administrators that they feel best meet the need of their school communities,” Larnerd said.
Larnerd said it is not happening.
“I was one of the principals that had an individual placed at my school even after I interviewed the person, gave them every opportunity to competitively apply for the position, did not select him and still had the person placed at my school which is a direct violation of AB469,” Larnerd said.
The reorganization law has to do with control over budgets. A principal in Boulder City may want something different for their school than a principal in North Las Vegas.
“Principals are the boots on the ground, they are in the trenches, they know their community,” Larnerd said.
Not everyone is a fan of pushing the district to change.
“Implementing AB469, in my opinion, is like taking a sledgehammer and destroying the very foundation of CCSD and our children’s education. As a current employee of CCSD, I have seen the negative impact on the lives of student and myself and other CCSD employees,” said Autumn Tampa, a CCSD education support professional.
Tampa took vacation time to testify in front of the Nevada Board of Education as they are still evaluating how they could intervene in CCSD.
“Whatever steps you take, I would ask that you weigh all possible outcomes against unintended consequences and collateral damage. You need to make sure that you go slowly and carefully,” Tampa said.
A distinguished educator could be appointed by the state as overseer of CCSD.
The possible consequences for CCSD will be discussed at the next Department of Education meeting in April.
Copyright 2022 KVVU. All rights reserved.
