School Board picks outsider over union advocate to fill vacant position

By Paul Takahashi

Thursday, July 19, 2012 | 6:15 p.m.

The Clark County School Board tapped an outsider over three candidates with closer ties to the School District in its appointment of a new board member Thursday to represent northwest Las Vegas.

Rene Cantu Jr. — the executive director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce’s Community Foundation — was sworn in Thursday as the interim School Board member to represent District E for the remaining five months of the term.

The District E seat — which encompasses Summerlin — was made vacant twice during its four-year term ending early 2013.

Elected School Board member Terri Janison resigned in November 2010 to join Gov. Brian Sandoval’s administration; she has since resigned from her position as director of community relations. Janison’s appointed replacement, John Cole, stepped down earlier this year, moving to Colorado for work.

The School Board, in a nearly three-hour special meeting Thursday, interviewed four candidates for the position. After little public deliberation, the board voted 5-1 to appoint Cantu, with Deanna Wright supporting another candidate.

The other candidates included Kenneth Rezendes, owner of A-Dependable Insurance Agency who serves on a school attendance zoning committee; Georgeann Ray, a substitute teacher and parent who served on various district volunteer and committee positions for 19 years; and Jose Solorio, who was appointed and served on the board in 1993 and 1994.

As a Latin Chamber executive, Cantu has experience in fundraising, grant-writing and implementing scholarship and workforce programs to help at-risk youth and adults. The 48-year-old Las Vegas resident moved to the valley in 2001, and has an 11-year-old son in the School District and another in preschool.

Cantu — who served in various administration roles at Nevada State College and the College of Southern Nevada — said his passion for education stems from his parents, even though his mother didn’t graduate from high school and his father earned his General Equivalency Diploma from the U.S. Army.

“The most important teacher is the parent,” Cantu said, advocating for more parent involvement in Las Vegas schools. “Education is one of the most transformative things a person could have and I’m a testament to that.”

Despite his modest background, Cantu earned bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Cantu was also a finalist for the state superintendent position this year.

In his interview, Cantu stressed continuing educational “reforms” pioneered by Clark County Schools Superintendent Dwight Jones. The economic slowdown after Las Vegas’ massive population growth in the past decade has given the district some opportunity to make improvements to education, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Cantu said, adding he wants to focus on the district’s high dropout rate. “We are producing a workforce and citizenry … people who are going to invent the next iPhone.”

As a leader in the Latino business community, Cantu said he hopes to represent the burgeoning Hispanic student population and their families.

“Diversity is a strength,” Cantu said, adding that a “minority status shouldn’t be a crutch or an excuse, but an attribute to be considered.”

In addition to getting students prepared for college and the science and technology fields, Cantu said he hopes to stress innovations in education, including charter schools and the empowerment model whereby schools are given more autonomy in exchange for greater accountability.

The self-described “fiscal conservative” said he would like to see the School District spend its money wisely, focusing not on just the revenue side but the expense side.

Part of Cantu’s budget solution for the cash-strapped School District may lie in resolving labor issues. The district declared an impasse in contract negotiations with the local teachers union after cutting 1,000 teaching positions in June due to budget cuts stemming from an arbitration win by the union over salary step and education raises.

“There needs to be compromise,” Cantu said. “We need to put the needs of students first.”

That opinion stood in stark contrast to that of Cantu’s primary opponent, Jose Solorio, who was considered among the more likely candidates for the District E seat because of his previous experience as a School Board member.

Current School Board members have said they were looking for a candidate who could hit the ground running because of the upcoming capital improvement tax initiative and Legislative session. In addition to his experience on the School Board, Solorio was a candidate for Janison’s seat in 2010, and ran unsuccessfully that year for the state board of education.

The Latino community activist and Democrat is also an outspoken supporter of the local and state teachers union, and their efforts to advocate for teachers and more education funding. That may have raised “qualms” among School Board members who will be fighting with the teachers union in arbitration, he said.

“Advocating support for the teachers union is at odds with how the district is proceeding with negotiations,” Solorio said. “Maybe (the School Board) had qualms with having a union voice on the board. If that’s the case, they made their decision based on other things than qualification.”

School Board members and district officials said they supported Cantu because he would contribute to the board’s shared vision and would work well with the board.

“The board is excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. Rene Cantu, as I know he will contribute to our vision of graduating young people who have the knowledge, skills and attitudes and values to be successful young adults,” School Board President Linda Young wrote in a prepared statement sent out shortly after the board meeting ended. “Dr. Cantu’s experience will add to the strength and diversity of our board and will allow us to continue serving our students, teachers, parents and community.”

Jones also commended the School Board’s decision to appoint Cantu.

“I look forward to the opportunity to work with Dr. Cantu,” Jones said in a prepared statement. “I know he will work well with the rest of the board to ensure the District continues to move forward with its initiatives and provide the best education to our students as we move from the fastest-growing to the fastest-improving school district.”

Cantu was sworn into his seat immediately after the special meeting Thursday, and will serve until Jan. 7, 2013, when the new School Board District E representative — elected in November — will be seated.

Cantu may choose to receive $750 per month in compensation — an option for all School Board members — for fulfilling the duties of the School Board, which include hiring and firing the superintendent and setting broad policies for the School District.