Just when you think the corporate reformers had run out of ideas, another pops up. Why not invite a non-educator to reorganize the schools? Why not give him a no-bid contract? Be sure not to include either educators or parents in the discussion of the future of the public schools.
Nevada, case in point, just handed a $1.2 million no-bid contract to a non-educator to reorganize the public schools of Clark County (Las Vegas).
During the October 18 Legislative Advisory Committee meeting about the Clark County School District (CCSD) reorganization, Committee members were presented with a proposal from TSC2, a recently formed consulting firm headed by Tom Skancke, former CEO of Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA). Firm consultants are slated to assist the CCSD with AB394 reorganization efforts, including administrative and financial changes, transition services and education policy development. The contract is for one year.
The $1.2 million contract caught some legislators and concerned parents by surprise. Several members of the Advisory Committee complained about having one day to review all the documents pertaining to the $1.2 million proposal. Legislators also wondered why there was no Request For Proposals (RFP), which would have made this contract subject to a competitive bid process.
Senator Mo Denis asked Glenn Christenson, a businessman who worked with Station Casinos and more recently collaborated closely with TSC2 principal Tom Skancke at LVGEA, how long the proposal had been in development. Mr. Christenson answered 6-8 weeks. Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz asked CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky how long it would have taken to go through a competitive RFP process, and he responded 6-8 weeks.
Senator Mo Denis asked, about parental engagement. He added that he couldn’t see the proposal succeeding without that input, and noted “there is no plan for parent outreach.”
Assemblywoman Diaz believed the scope of the work from the consulting firm was too broad and needed to be more focused and finite. In particular, she and Assemblywoman Dina Neal noted that the proposed work involved policy development, which is legally the responsibility of CCSD Trustees.
Assemblywoman Diaz also noted that the reorganization plan was designed to give power back to local administrators, parents and teachers and ensure that local schools were building a sense of community. Yet parents are completely absent from the proposed transition structure, she added.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just amazing. When did the leaders in this country become so terribly afraid of democracy and expertise?
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Once billionaires and corporations move in, they will fight to keep their profit stream. They will work to suppress democratic participation as it interferes with their ability to make money and garner tax credits and write-offs. This is a main reason why there is a conflict of interest in trying to turn a public institution into a profit making machine. Education no longer serves the interests of the public as a priority. Their loyalty is to the corporation.
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Disgusting! In fact this is MORE THAN GROSS and totally repulsive.
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Move in to do what?? Lets see, the business men probably had a conversation like we can knock down a wall and make the classes larger with more students,,,,yeah that sound like a good idea…instead of thirty kids in the class we will double the class size aka mike bloomberg and you will see improvement…..Mike Bloomberg once said he would fire half the teachers in NYC and have 80 kids in a class as long as there is a “good” teacher in the room…excuse me while I am choking on my lunch…..
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They can unload a lot of teachers if they move in computers for some horrible cyber program. Al they need is someone to keep the kids awake, and someone to police them. This is the problem with privatized schools. The main focus is profit, not students.
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Having business people come in and reorganize is like having kanye west teach a science class…omg kanye west might possibly be the most annoying human being on earth and no wonder a person like kardashian marries this goon..even our smoking jacket president said kanye west is a jack ass…..the people in the country making all this money is wrong,,plain wrong…somewhere in our great democracy something went or has gone wrong. Too many idiots aka kanye west and the kardashian people are making way too much money for their existence and contributions to society. The biology teacher down the hall from me earns 65k while this jack ass kanye yeezus freak west is making millions to squeal into a microphone……where did we go wrong and how can we fix this insane society….maybe the middle east knows something we don’t
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Thank you for bringing the chaos we’re experiencing here in NV to this national forum. What happens in Vegas should not stay in Vegas. We’re hurting. Bad. @Yeezue – we’re not far from Kanye. Besides Agassi, now we have the pleasure of a Pitbull charter. Vouchers are being fought over in the courts. Our classes are bursting at the seams, with some classrooms taking place in portables or pods that are nothing more than trailers. We have Zoom schools, Gulen charters up the kazoo, and have decided to break up/reorganize the state’s largest district, Clark County School District, the 5th largest in the nation. Add to that, taxpayers may now bare a $750 million debt to build a stadium for the Oakland Raiders, which hasn’t committed to the move. Vegas. The land of fantasy. Build it and they’ll come. Meanwhile, our support staff are working for pennies with expensive lousy benefits and less work hours. Teachers have had their Health Trust become, well not very “trusty.” As our premiums doubled, the quality of care hit rock bottom. Teachers can’t get into doctors for months. Oh, and our doctors are not being paid. Tons of teacher’s have been sent to collections. Then just for fun, throw in a revamped salary schedule where it takes 2-3 years or more for a possible raise.
And I’ve only just begun.
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Don’t forget Mary Beth, many of us have decided we will retire earlier than we thought and work some less stressful menial job that combined with our pension will pay the bills. I have no books to teach reading with, I have turned my desk at home into a print shop, we have after hours and before school meetings every day, and about that pay raise….The contract expires in two years, it takes that long to complete the professional growth plan, I remember the district welching on pay raises for classes they sponsored in past years, they can easily cry no money. Furthermore, if your school suddenly winds up in the Achievement District, no raise for you. All pay will be contingent on test scores. Also, don’t forger, the stadium project incurs some unexpected costs that delayed the vote to approve it by a day. It will cost 990 million to upgrade the city sewer system and roads around the stadium. We are on the hook for that.
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Don’t forget, many of us will just retire earlier than we planned and take on a menial job that combined with our now under attack pensions will pay the bills. At my poor rural school we have no books to use to teach reading, no librarian, but a new 12 million dollar gym while I teach in a 40 year old moldy portable building. As for our pay raise, I still remember about 5 years ago the district provided courses in conjunction with various contractors, the district profitted from the tuition of the classes, and then refused to pay teachers the promised raises. The teachers had spent upwards of $10,000 for the classes. The contract we are under is a two year contract. Unless you are a Title I school, you are not eligible for the current raise for 3 years and the contract will no longer be in force. I would not trust the district, as your plan must also be approved by your administrator. Furthermore, if your school should fall into the achievement district, you will not be eligible for the raise. I think we are going to get the shaft again, I do not trust the district. As you said, this is just the beginning.
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