Friday, April 19, 2024 | 2 a.m.
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The Clark County School District has some explaining to do when it comes to its new facility-use rules.
As reported by the Sun’s Hillary Davis, the new rules require private organizations to front the cost of having at least two CCSD police officers on site at every non-CCSD athletic event that occurs on a rented CCSD field or court. That’s an added cost of nearly $120 per hour for every nonschool-sponsored athletic event at any of the district’s hundreds of outdoor fields and indoor courts. For most events, the added hourly rate will triple the financial cost of athletic leagues and events compared with previous years.
There is a compelling argument that taxpayers should not be expected to foot the bill for security for private use of public facilities. Nationally, troubling incidents of violence at youth sporting events — usually by parents rather than children — are growing. There are legitimate reasons one might insist on having police present at private sporting events, including youth events.
However, the problem is that CCSD has thus far refused to reveal why two officers are needed at all events and what were the circumstances that led to its new policy. In other words, CCSD has refused to explain what problem it is trying to solve, its evidence that the problem exists, or specifically how the policy it adopted will address that problem. It’s yet another chapter in the increasingly shadowy and opaque relationship between CCSD, the CCSD Police Department and the public they claim to serve.
Some organizations, especially nonprofit organizations that serve low-income and at-risk youth, may be unable absorb the additional cost of continuous police presence, forcing them to pass the costs on to parents and guardians. Families that cannot afford the increased participation fees may be forced to withdraw their children, further limiting the options for low-income youths who wish to participate in supervised athletic leagues, especially in the summer when school is out of session. In the worst-case scenario, entire leagues and organizations may disappear, leaving whole communities with fewer options for safe, supervised and organized athletic activities.
Given the stakes, we would expect district officials to explain their concerns and justify their decision for such a dramatic policy change.
Despite repeated attempts by Davis to ask what incidents, events or data were motivating the change, the district provided only a general statement saying that, “As good stewards of taxpayer dollars, CCSD must balance the costs of providing safe environments for groups using facilities with the nonbudgeted staffing costs for the outside event.” The statement went on to say that, “The change in procedure was necessary to ensure the outside group paid all the required costs associated with the event and to minimize the need to send a supplemental invoice to the group after the event concluded.”
While we appreciate CCSD’s sentiment regarding the importance of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, that stewardship also means that taxpayers deserve to know the district’s reasons and goals for sweeping policy changes with the potential to upend community organizations.
CCSD’s public responsibility obliges it to explain why these changes were made.
CCSD’s Secondary Student Athletics and Activities Department released a document in March that showed that “disruptive participants and other various incidents” required officer response to “a majority” of sporting events contested on school property by outside groups last summer.
That is alarming and we must ensure the safety of sporting events. The public deserves to understand better what is going on during these events.
However, the district has yet to provide additional context for the March memorandum.
To be clear, we aren’t saying that police or other security measures shouldn’t be required for certain events and activities, but taxpayers deserve a better explanation of exactly what problem CCSD is trying to solve and a policy that correlates directly with that problem, rather than applying an incredibly burdensome policy to all without explanation.
CCSD should share its concerns openly, providing data and evidence to support its assertions and its proposed plan of action — the same evidentiary standards CCSD holds students to when they submit essays or advocate for change.
Once the problems are identified and understood, CCSD should then work with athletes, parents, law enforcement officials and local nonprofit leaders to identify solutions that directly address the problems without creating an undue burden on organizations or the district — the same way we hope students will work to resolve conflict through compromise.
CCSD should take the opportunity to lead by example and roll back the proposed policy changes until it has engaged the community in a meaningful and effective policymaking process.
