Three things to know about CCSD’s next superintendent

The Clark County School District is interviewing six superintendent candidates on Friday, and trustees say they’ll offer the job to someone next Wednesday. Regardless of whom they select, here are three things you already know about the district’s next superintendent.

1. A manager, not a visionary. Leadership matters, especially in large organizations such as the fifth-largest school district in the country. Too bad the next superintendent won’t be providing much, because most of the job is managing programs others have put in place.

Consider Zoom and Victory Schools and Read by Three. Those are three of Nevada’s most high-profile education initiatives. State lawmakers created them and set up detailed instructions for how the programs operate. The superintendent has little leeway.

In two years, there is going to be a major battle over Read by Three. That’s because at the end of the 2019-20 school year, state law will require districts to hold back third-graders who aren’t reading at grade level. Last year that would have entailed holding back more than 10,000 third-graders, given that only 46 percent were proficient at reading.

Public attention is going to focus in on the superintendent — who isn’t in charge of the program. There’s a possibility that legislative Democrats will roll back that requirement in the 2019 session. Once again, the superintendent will be more bystander than boss.

Having good managers is important, but that’s a different role from being a visionary leader.

2. Can’t fix the budget problems. Failing companies bring in high-profile CEOs to clean house. That means cutting expenses and firing subpar performers.

But state law won’t allow the district’s new CEO to control the money or personnel. Eighty-seven percent of the district’s general fund goes to salaries and benefits. State collective bargaining law mandates the district negotiate contracts with five unions. If there’s an impasse, an unaccountable, out-of-state arbitrator — not the superintendent or elected school board — will make the final call.

It looks as if PERS contributions will increase in the summer of 2019. That’s going to make everything worse. The district (read: taxpayers) and its employees will split the increased contributions. Teachers will see a decrease in take-home pay, and the district will have higher expenses and virtually no reserve funding. Hello, layoffs. The kicker: Higher PERS payouts will benefit current retirees, not current employees.

If a Democrat gets elected governor, he or she could eliminate the categorical funding for programs such as Zoom Schools. That’d provide money to pay current employees more, but it would eliminate a program education bureaucrats claim is increasing student achievement. Not a win-win.

Even an influx of money will provide only short-term relief. In 2016, the district gave teachers a two-year contract with $135.5 million in raises. In 2017, the union came back wanting more.

3. Set up to fail. The next superintendent will walk into a failing district with almost no ability to change its personnel, education initiatives or spending. How do you expect anyone to succeed under those circumstances?

Dwight Jones became superintendent in 2010 as the outside reformer backed by the business community. Pat Skorkowsky became superintendent in 2013 with the support of the teachers union. It didn’t matter. The union stymied Jones’ reforms, and Skorkowsky is leaving with the district on the verge of financial collapse. The main cause of their failings was a lack of authority.

The best chance of increasing student achievement comes from the next governor keeping Read by Three retention in place and expanding school choice. Those programs — both outside the superintendent’s control — have a record of increasing student achievement around the country.

It doesn’t matter who the superintendent is. If you want to change the school district, change collective bargaining.

Listen to Victor Joecks discuss his columns each Monday at 9 a.m. with Kevin Wall on 790 Talk Now. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.