Schools blame lawmakers for loss of programs

By Emily Richmond

Monday, June 16, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

Local school officials this morning blamed the Legislature's inaction for its decision to suspend the Gifted and Talented Education and other special programs in Clark County, at least for the coming academic year.

A shortage of nearly 1,000 teachers -- and an inability to hire new employees because of the uncertainty surrounding state funding levels -- forced the Clark County School District to announce Friday it would move all literacy, technology and GATE specialists back into regular classrooms in August. Teachers on special assignments will also return to the classrooms.

The blame for the district's unprecedented actions should lie squarely with the state's lawmakers, Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the district, said.

"If the shoe fits, wear it," Orci said this morning. "I hope people understand this is the last action the district wants to take, but we've been forced to do it."

Clark County School Board President Sheila Moulton said she spent the weekend fielding calls from worried teachers, principals and parents.

"Everyone wants to know if this is really happening," Moulton said. "The truth is we have less than two months to figure out where everyone is going to be assigned for the new school year, and we can't keep putting off our decisions while we wait for the next special session."

Moving the specialists gives the district 411 additional classroom teachers, said George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources for the district. Even if the Legislature approves a budget quickly when it resumes its work next week, that would likely be too late to reinstate the eliminated positions, Rice said.

The district's literacy, technology and GATE specialists had been put on notice last month that their posts might be eliminated. The Clark County School Board last month approved a draft budget to be used if the governor's tax plan did not win approval, which included eliminating specialist positions.

Sherry Vincent, a GATE teacher for seven years, said this morning she wasn't ready to accept the district decision as a done deal. A group of GATE teachers planned to visit the teachers union this afternoon to investigate whether GATE programs were mandated by Nevada law, just as special education programs are, Vincent said.

"These are the future leaders of our state, of our nation," Vincent said of the GATE students. "They're the problem solvers, the creative and criticial thinkers. We need to nurture them."

Orci said this morning that the district's legal office advised him that the law does not require special programs for bright students.

Stephanie Morataya, a GATE student who just finished fourth grade at Red Rock Elementary School in Las Vegas, said this morning the program gives her the chance to work on higher-level math problems because it groups students by ability, rather than grade level.

"I learned a lot more in GATE than my regular classes," Stephanie said. "A lot of kids are going to be really mad. They're expecting to go to GATE and they'll be disappointed."

Orci said he was hopeful the GATE teachers could be phased back into the district's schools as the hiring process continued. But in the meantime the first priority must be staffing all of the district's 285 schools by early August, Orci said.

"We value GATE, we value all our specialists, but we're in crisis mode," Orci said. "This is about doing what's best for as many of our students as possible."

Carolina Morataya, Stephanie's mother, said Stephanie deserves the same consideration from district officials as other children with different needs, such as special education students.

"She's like a little sponge, soaking up all the information she can," Morataya said. "She deserves to grow to the full ability of her talents so that she can give something back to the community when she's an adult. We need more people like that."

The problem, Orci said, is the pool of teacher candidates dwindles sharply in the summer months because many people have already accepted positions elsewhere. Starting July 1 the district must also meet the new stringent requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools have a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, Orci said. Teachers already hired by July 1 have three years to meet the new federal standards. Those hired afterward must already meet them.

"We're facing a double whammy," Orci said. "Not only do we need to find 1,000 teachers, but they have to be the cream of the crop. We'll be darned lucky to be in compliance with No Child Left Behind when school starts."

The largest number of teacher vacancies are for at-risk schools, with campuses managed by Edison Schools Inc. being among five of the 10 most short-staffed schools, Orci said.

Laverne White, regional vice president of the private education management company, said turnover is common at Edison schools because of the rigorous demands of the job.

"Some (teachers) leave because of personal issues, some because of the longer hours, some because of an incompatibility with the Edison philosophy," White said. "I'm confident we'll find the right mix of teachers we need for all our schools."