School Board trustee says he will stress helping Hispanics

This article first appeard in the July 27 edition of El Tiempo, a Las Vegas Review-Journal sister publication.

By HERNANDO AMAYA

Editor, El Tiempo

Rene Cantu, appointed earlier this month to fill an unexpired term on the Clark County School Board, intends to assist in improving education for all students, with a particular emphasis on Hispanics, during the five months he will be a trustee.

Cantu was vice president of multicultural affairs at Nevada State College for six years and worked two years at the College of Southern Nevada. He is director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation.

"I want to participate in the education of our youth at a very important moment when we have a superintendent with good ideas for reforming the system," Cantu said. "We want to move forward especially with young Hispanics who are struggling the most to get the preparation they need for college and work."

In questioning candidates for the District E seat vacated by John Cole, the selection committee emphasized keeping students in school, establishing strategies to motivate students, supporting the Hispanic student population in overcoming disadvantages and achieving greater presence of Hispanic teachers and administrators.

The School Board selected the 48-year-old educator from four candidates July 19. He will serve in the position until a new trustee for the northwest Las Vegas district is elected in November.

Cantu said a priority is to establish common ground with the teachers union to resolve conflicts.

"This has to be solved," he said. "My fear is that the welfare of our youth in school will be sacrificed in those negotiations by cutting the school day and increasing the number of students per class, and other measures that will ultimately affect students."

He said he wants to ensure that a compromise is reached that benefits teachers while also serving students.

To achieve this goal, Cantu said he intends to talk with union representatives and directly with teachers to understand their positions.

"What I heard is that there are teachers in the union that do not completely agree with the position taken by their managers," Cantu said. "I want to emphasize the issues that are important to teachers and negotiate with them in a strong way so that our children do not lose in this conflict."

He said both Superintendent Dwight Jones and former Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez have worked on good ideas for improving education. He cited Reclaim Your Future, in which district officials knocked on the doors of young men who had withdrawn from school, asking them to return. The graduation rate rose by 6 percent, Cantu said.

He said students and parents must be offered more choices in education.

"Parents should choose the best school for their children," Cantu said. "If the one they have isn't working, they should be able to change. The charter schools (which operate under some independence and by contract with the school district) are an important ingredient of this," he said.

Translated from Spanish by Maite Salazar.