Battling over authority

Every fourth grader knows that challenging the principal's authority is a sure-fire way to land in academic hot water.

But many of the Clark County School District's most rule-conscious employees are openly rebelling over reporting to the principal's office.

The 119 police officers who patrol schoolyards continue to be embroiled in a touchy turf battle with district officials over who should be in charge when it comes to law enforcement.

"We just feel that we shouldn't report to principals," Clark County School District Police Union President Phil Gervase said. "All we're looking for is proper direction from a person in law enforcement."

Some school police officers and the union argue that principals have too much control over what they do at schools and have called for a full-time chief of police.

School Superintendent Brian Cram disagrees, saying that ultimate authority on school campuses rests with the principals.

"I'm of the opinion that if it's not broke don't fix it," Cram said Thursday. "The police have to make some decisions, but the parents expect the principal to run the school.

"Both the police and the administration are there for the students and the two groups working together in a collaboration works better than two separate units."

The school police officers will get half their wish thanks to the School Board's creation of a full-time chief's position Thursday night, but Gervase says that won't solve the problem.

Dan Reyes is serving as acting chief for the district, a position he was appointed to in June after serving as a "supervisor" of school police who answered to the superintendent.

Whether Reyes or someone else is appointed as the new chief the position will still have to report to the superintendent, which is a problem according to Gervase.

"Instead of answering to an administrator who answers to the superintendent we want to answer to the sheriff or a police chief who would then answer to the board," Gervase said. "This is not the union versus the administrators. We have great administrators and teachers who do an excellent job educating children, but they can't take on that responsibility and school law enforcement."

One place the union believes principal's have too much power is in the ability to tell the police what areas of the school to patrol.

"If an administrator tells a school police officer to stand by a flag pole, the officer has to do it," Gervase said. "The officer may know that there is a greater possibility of a crime taking place somewhere else on campus, but going against an administrator could mean disciplinary repercussions. The safety of the public cannot be hindered by something like that."

Cram admits that principals do have the power to tell police where to patrol, but they make those decisions based on the needs of the school.

"A principal can't have police that aren't going to tell them where they are," Cram said. "The principal is responsible for that school and needs to know where the police are and what part of the school they are patrolling.

"If an officer comes to a principal and says there is going to be a robbery in this part of the school at a certain time, then of course the principal and the officer should collaborate and make sure the officer is there to stop the robbery."

School police are academy trained like Metro Police officers, carry guns and have powers of arrest.

"The only difference between school police and Metro is that city police don't have a chance to be as proactive as we are," Gervase said. "We're like the old street cops who used to know everyone on their beat. We see the kids everyday and are able to talk to them one on one."

During the 1999 Legislature school police testified in favor of a bill that would allow the district, if it desired, to try to place its police under one of the valley's police departments. The bill also made it necessary for the district to hire a chief.

Thursday night the board directed Cram to begin a national search to fill the chief position. The position will pay a starting salary of $66,132.

The pay is about a $13,000 increase over starting pay for the police supervisor position. Reyes, who was the department's supervisor for the last seven years, will continue to fill the role of acting chief until the position is filled, and he will be able to apply for the new job.

"Nothing has really changed since I was made acting chief instead of supervisor," Reyes said. "It has been business as usual, and I have the same duties as before the change.

"The police work for the district and my responsibility is to carry out the district's wishes. The buck stops with me."

With Reyes reporting directly to Cram, Gervase says the autonomy needed by the officers to do their jobs to the best of their abilities is not being given to the police.

"When Metro arrests a kid with a gun they treat it as a crime," Gervase said. "When the same kid is found with a gun on campus there is a tendency from some administrators to treat it as an educational experience and not what it is, a crime."

While education is the main goal of the school district, Cram says administrators do not take safety lightly.

"We expect all school personnel to report crimes," Cram said. "Crimes need to be reported, but every time two friends get in a fight in the hall are you going to arrest both and charge them with assault?

"Half the time they have made up and apologized before anyone ever gets there. Technically you could charge every kid who decides to duke it out with assault, but come on, get a life."

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