School Board at odds with superintendent advisory panel

The hunt for a new superintendent of Clark County schools is bogged down in a tussle between an advisory committee that wants to do more than advise and the School Board empowered to make the decision.

The advisory committee of powerful business leaders is probably more accustomed to giving orders than advice, but that's not what the School Board expected when the nationwide search started and it issued written guidelines for the committee.

The advisory panel is made up of a host of Las Vegas movers and shakers.

Topping the list is committee chairman Sig Rogich, president of The Rogich Communications Group, and a powerful figure in Nevada politics. He's joined by Terry Wright, an attorney and CEO of Nevada Title Company; Mark Brown, executive vice president of Station Casinos, Inc.; attorney Arthur Williams; Orlando Sandoval, associate vice president for planning and campus sites with the Community College of Southern Nevada; Rod Davis, CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson and Dr. Cheryl Routh.

Although the School Board criticized the committee for pushing media giant James Rogers as an interim candidate, advisory members are not backing down. Only one, Routh, opposed the recommendation. Rogers' firm, Sunbelt Communications, operates nine television stations and two radio stations.

Committee members say poor scores, dropout rates and graduation rates are critical areas the new superintendent must address before catering to an alleged 'good old boys' administration. School Board members have the same concerns about student performance, but some of them have reservations about the prospect of a short-term person who could come in and make a lot of changes, then leave.

The committee's concerns are also being raised by Rogers, who offered to be superintendent on an interim basis, for free.

But if any interim was put in with retiring Superintendent Brian Cram still on board, would Cram continue his offer to stick around and help out? That's questionable, since Cram would still be legally responsible for any actions taken by the interim.

Cram, who has declined to comment on the process since it began, remains neutral on the issue. "My attitude is I'll support whoever the board picks," said Cram, who announced his retirement two years ago.

One thing everyone agrees on is that the search must go on until a new superintendent is found. Five candidates were interviewed by both panels and for different reasons, none of them worked out. Now the board has directed the search firm consultant to produce two more candidates with the hope that a new superintendent will be named by April.

At Wednesday's School Board meeting, members suggested an interim might not be a bad idea if someone is not in place by spring. Whatever happens, the bottom line is this: The School Board has the final say.

"It's always easy to just throw out that it's all politics," Rogich said.

He also said the committee will not hold back on making suggestions.

"You can't put a muzzle on the committee," Rogich said. "If we disagree with the School Board I think that's healthy."

Ruth Johnson, who served as board president up until Wednesday and now becomes a member, sharply criticized the committee, charging it does whatever it wants, despite guidance from the School Board.

Mary Beth Scow and Susan Brager, who this week were named board president and vice president, respectively, said board members have been getting telephone calls from citizens supporting Rogers as the interim.

"It's something that has been thrown out there, but the board will decide," Scow said. "We're going to finish what we've started. Down the road, this might be something we will consider. It's just another option and we have many options to consider. It was a gracious offer."

Brager said no pressure was applied, it was just people touting Rogers' qualifications.

No one is saying who, aside from Rogers, has been making telephone calls.

The main criticism being leveled at the School Board is that the members are not working together, something that has repeatedly been heard from the public, the consultant managing the search, and even the board members themselves.

Rogers probably hasn't endeared himself to the board with some of his harsh comments.

"The quality of the product is as low as it is due to a multitude of reasons," Rogers said. "Some of it is society in general, the structure and operation of the school district itself and some are the result of what I perceive to be inadequate funding by the state. But the main thing that comes to mind is how much effort is spent on tasks that are not directly involved with providing teachers with the best environment and greatest support to teach students. I'm actually very distressed with the way this School Board functions."

Rogers said he perceives that less than 10 percent of the board's efforts are spent on tasks that directly produce support for teachers and therefore, results to students.

In talking with board members, Rogers said he has found them to be close-minded.

"I felt like they felt I was trying to invade some province they have sole ownership of," said Rogers.

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