District faces critical shortage of administrators

It's well-known the fast-growing Clark County School District will be scrambling to find enough teachers to fill 88 new schools during the next decade.

Less well-known is that the district faces critical administrator shortages.

Clark County schools will need an estimated 500 administrators -- principals, as well as finance, curriculum, and facilities managers -- in the next eight years.

That's why 30-year-old teachers like John Pendry are filling in the gaps.

"It's a fact of growth," School Board member Sheila Moulton said.

The district is opening four new elementary schools this fall, so assistant superintendent Kay Carl is hiring assistant principals and principals now. Assistant principals help hire teachers, order supplies and field parent questions.

Assistant principals also handle discipline problems, do end-of-the-year teacher evaluations and handle teacher concerns, Carl said.

Hiring assistant principals for the new schools creates holes at other schools. As part of this year's shift, Marion Earl Elementary assistant principal Patricia Schmidt transferred to M.J. Christensen Elementary to become principal. Pendry was sent to fill her shoes.

Assistant principals often are shuffled around to different types of schools to give them varied experiences.

Six to eight teachers are pulled from their classrooms and appointed assistant principals each year, on average.

This year, there have been only two. Pendry was one.

"It's not fair to leave those positions open," Carl said. "Those schools need the administrators."

"Sometimes we do not pull teachers to fill those openings and that leaves the schools without an assistant principal and it's devastating to that school," Carl said.

Superintendent Brian Cram said pulling teachers out of classrooms is "not our first choice."

"We try to keep that to a minimum," Cram said. "We don't do it because it's easy. We do it because there is no other option."

School Board member Susan Brager, who represents the Helen Jydstrup Elementary School area, agreed.

"It's not the ideal, but it's what we have to work with," she said.

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