Legislative chairman vows education meetings in LV

CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, says he boycotted most of the meetings of the interim legislative education study committee during the last biennium because they were never held in nor televised to Southern Nevada.

Despite his many absences, he's been elected chairman of the study committee for this biennium, and he says he will alternate the meetings between north and south. The sessions will be televised to the other end of the state.

This interim committee studies public schools during the 18 months between sessions and makes recommendations.

During the last interim period, Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, was chairman. Williams said Raggio held the organizational meeting in Las Vegas and promised to alternate the sites, but that was the last one ever held in Southern Nevada. There was no teleconferencing to Southern Nevada.

Williams said residents of Clark County wanted to attend, but they couldn't afford the travel. As a result, many in the south were left out of the loop, he said.

But Raggio said two meetings were held in Clark County during the 18 months.

"I will be anxious to see how many more show up," Raggio said. "My experience is attendance is the same whether we hold the meetings in Carson City or in Las Vegas.

"The ones who have an interest attend," Raggio said. "We had good attendance including the school districts, the state Board of Education, the schools of education at the university and the teachers' union. There was a broad-based representation," Raggio said.

Despite the differences, Raggio said Williams will be a "good chairman. He has a lot of experience." Williams has headed the Assembly Education Committee for several sessions.

The chairmanship of the interim study committee alternates every two years between the Senate and Assembly. The Legislative Commission last week, after a brief partisan battle, elected Williams as chairman.

Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, nominated Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, to head the committee. The bi-partisan commission split 6-6 along party lines on the vote. Then Williams won on an 8-4 vote by the commission that handles the business of the Legislature between sessions

Raggio was unanimously selected as vice chairman. Williams said he will never relinquish his gavel to Raggio during the interim, even if it means canceling a meeting he cannot attend.

Williams said Monday he hasn't set his priorities but one thing is sure -- there won't be any discussions of charter schools. In the past, Williams, a former schoolteacher, has been lukewarm to allowing charter schools in Nevada. But he did support the charter school legislation last session which included a $600,000 grant to the Andre Agassi Foundation for building a charter school in Williams' Assembly district.

"Now that we've put the law into effect two sessions ago and now that the so-called advocates of charter schools who didn't agree with the original bill got what they wanted last session, we need to let the law function for a while and see what happens," Williams said.

"A key indication of that was the Odyssey charter school (in Las Vegas) that was passed that lets kids study and go to school at homes on computers. People are sort of outraged about," he said. "Nothing against that particular school, but there was a void in law in our haste to pass something in 1997 that allowed that school to open," he said.

It permitted a charter school that completed an application to be licensed, he said. The law, which was corrected in 1999, said the school had to comply with the standards established by the state, not just submit a completed application.

"The charter school system in Nevada needs to simmer," he said. "We should not continue the fast pace that some people want."

Raggio said he did not have a laundry list of what the interim committee should study. He said charter schools may still be an issue. And while he's not advocating it, there's still the controversy whether Nevada should allow vouchers.

Raggio also said the interim committee must follow up on the newly set academic standards and the new program for professional development for teachers. "We want to keep the momentum going," he said.

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