Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Superintendent: Proposal crosses boundary in dust-up over School District reorganization

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Pat Skorkowsky

Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky and some Clark County School Board members squared off today over a proposal to hire an outside consultant as a liaison between the board and officials overseeing the reorganization of the School District.

The proposal, added to the agenda by board member Chris Garvey but written by district lawyers, calls for the retention of an “agent” who would answer to the board on issues related to the reorganization and “administrative matters.”

It’s a role Skorkowsky has traditionally fulfilled, a fact pointed out by lawyers in an internal memo before the meeting.

“I’m your agent,” Skorkowsky said at the meeting. “This is crossing a boundary.”

News of the agenda item surfaced late last week — Skorkowsky said a trustee informed him personally on Thursday — and immediately raised red flags among those who viewed it as a pretense for trustees to exert more control over the reorganization process.

In a heated conversation with board President Linda Young and trustee Chris Garvey, Skorkowsky also lamented trustees’ behind-the-scenes demands of him and his staff.

In a series of emails put into the public record, trustees appear to instruct Skorkowsky to not comply with requests from consultants retained by the state to help with the reorganization.

“When I get emails like that, I get confused,” Skorkowsky said, adding that district staff also felt pressured by trustees to do certain things. He told the board that if that continued, he would instruct staff to refer any requests from trustees to him.

Trustees were offended by a recent decision by reorganization officials to hire a consultant, TSC2 Group, and appoint a Community Implementation Council to make policy recommendations to the district. Some trustees say outside figures are having too much influence on policies.

When Skorkowsky assured Young she was “part of the team,” she replied abruptly, “I don’t feel like it.”

The heated exchange eventually settled down, giving way to other trustees’ opinions about hiring an outside agent.

Trustee Erin Cranor, picked by Community Implementation Council Chair and local business figure Glenn Christensen as the school board’s representative on the council, was in opposition.

“It seems like it has a lot of potential to actually cause harm,” she said.

Cranor’s views were echoed by trustee Carolyn Edwards, who said Skorkowsky should be the one to ask for more help if he needs it.

Still, the proposal will likely be debated a second time at the board’s regular meeting on Thursday.

Skorkowsky reiterated his position that trustees get on board with the reorganization, not because it is a perfect policy, but because it is state law. “If we don’t move forward now, then we have not done our job,” he said.

Skorkowsky urged the board to lobby state lawmakers to approve a new weighted funding formula the reorganization depends on. The formula would allot more funding to schools with low-income students, English-language learners and special education students.

The state has yet to find funding for the new formula, despite near unanimous opinion that it is one of the most pressing education issues in Nevada.

Critics have pointed out that state lawmakers voted for $750 million in public funding toward an NFL-ready football stadium in Las Vegas, but still don’t have a plan to fund the new school formula, estimated to cost more than $1 billion.

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