Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Controversy is heating up already over Gov. Bob Miller's bill to toughen basic subjects in public schools.
David Sheffield, of Elko, president of the state Board of Education, said Monday the board is already looking at increasing the standards, and that Miller's bill represents an attempt to bypass the board. Sheffield said the new council called for in Miller's bill to set higher standards isn't necessary because that's the board's job.
In his State of the State address in January, Miller complained the current standards are not clear, specific or "well grounded in content." He pledged to establish higher standards in core subjects such as math, science, reading, writing and social studies within one year.
His bill, however, would give a new, nine-member council until July 1999 to set the requirements for the basic subjects and then another year for such things as computer and physical education.
Miller's chief of staff, Jim Mulhall, said Assembly Bill 277 would establish higher standards for students from kindergarten through high school. He said the Miller administration has spoken "at length" with Mary Peterson, state superintendent of public instruction, who answers to the state education board.
"The school board believes it should be allowed to set the standards. We think a new panel needs to be established," Mulhall said.
Five of the nine members on the council would be appointed by the governor and one member each by the majority and minority leaders in the Senate and Assembly. The chairman would be named by the governor. And the governor would have to have one of his appointees come from Clark County, one from a county whose population ranges from 35,000 to 400,000, and one from a rural county. No two members named by the governor could be employees of a school district.
Introduced by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Assembly Bill 277 requires new standards by July 1999 for mathematics, science, English and social studies. By July 2000, performance standards must be adopted for foreign language, computer education, physical education and the arts.
Sheffield said the state education board is composed of elected officials "and that's our primary function," in setting the standards. Higher standards, he said, will start being adopted in July. And every few months, the tougher requirements for other courses will be approved by the board, Sheffield said.
The new standards take 18 to 30 months to develop because the experts have to be consulted and then public hearings must be held, Sheffield said. "The Legislature gave us the money to develop these."
"We've gone to performance standards so students will not only demonstrate their knowledge but how they apply this knowledge such as a math formula or their comprehension in reading," Sheffield said.
"How do you expect an advisory group to do this?" Sheffield asked. "We've been working on these for years."
About contention in the past on the state board, Sheffield said, "We're rowing in the same direction now."
This isn't the only bill that targets the education board. Assemblywoman Chris Giunchiglini, D-Las Vegas, said she will introduce legislation to overturn the board's decision to leave high school graduation requirements at 22 1/2 credits. The board, after years of discussion, decided not to lower the number of credits. Giunchiglini favors reducing them to 20 or 20 1/2.
Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, who chairs the Education Committee, is talking about abolishing the state board altogether.
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