THE LACK THEREOF

Several things going on in public education lately: This past week my phone constantly has been ringing with calls from individuals, and from one prominent political faction, asking which school board candidates to vote for, or endorse, in the upcoming election. To a local teacher this question is a no-brainer. Hence, that's probably why I was getting these calls from folks who care about the ongoing pathetic plight of teachers in Las Vegas.

This year the no-brainer answer is: Vote for anyone but an incumbent for the Clark County School Board. Of course, you should first study all the other candidates in your school board district to pick the most efficient non-incumbent. One nice thing about this year's election is the Nevada Supreme Court helped dump about 30 percent of the seven-member school board's dead weight by enforcing term limits on Trustees Mary Beth Scow and Ruth Johnson. Thus, two out of three incumbents up for reelection are gone. With this controversial legal decision, you can chalk up at least two points for the effectiveness of term limits.

Scow and Johnson's disastrous tenures, both starting 12 years ago, have been known for low student test scores and graduation rates, but large class sizes. Plus, an insidious form of institutional racism has infested the district throughout that time. Both women, sadly, were part of the school board that, in 2000, tolerated former Superintendent Carlos Garcia's public proclamation that "Niggers come in all colors." On top of all this, the teaching profession here has plummeted from an average-paying, middle-class job to one not providing a decent living wage for teachers. Under Scow and Johnson's leadership (or lack thereof) teachers have been forced to work in a brutal gulag of fear so profound that roughly 5,000 new teachers disappear from the district every five years, a fact to which these two trustees seem oblivious.

One word best describes their legacy: PASSIVE. Neither one has the temperament for the progressive activism needed in educational leaders today. True, in the past few years test scores and graduation rates have risen significantly, but this is due directly to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In the five years before that law, and Johnson and Scow were in charge, the school district wallowed academically.

Funny thing about President Bush's little education initiative. It was a needed kick in the ass to public education that got around the incompetence of people like Scow and Johnson, to deliver good teaching practices to all students in all schools. Few people realize, even today, what No Child Left Behind, in its simplicity, has actually accomplished. As most good teachers know, there are basically three types of school principals: academic principals (who promote learning), athletic principals (who promote sports) and dysfunctional principals (those with drug, sex or power-tripping addictions). What No Child Left Behind did was force all principals to follow the academic (learning) model or face punitive consequences. And the results, to date, have been impressive.

Which leads us to the only incumbent trustee running for reelection, Terri Janison. When she first joined the board three years ago, Janison aligned herself with a shady group of business leaders and casino executives known as The Council for a Better Nevada. Its goal was to take over the Clark County School District by putting an out-of-state shill in the position of school superintendent -- to indoctrinate our students with the psychopathic, bottom-line philosophy of its elitist members. Their Trojan Horse was something called empowerment schools -- an idea ripped off from Edmonton, Canada, where public education is extremely well-funded. Unfortunately in Vegas, where public education spending ranks with the lowest in the nation, these empowerment schools simply have become a sadistic weapon used to threaten grossly underpaid teachers -- into more fear. After this shill ploy fell through, however, Janison quickly got into lockstep with the status quo of academic apathy represented by the above-mentioned Scow and Johnson.

In other words, Janison is the quintessential plastic politician, with the intellectual insight of a Stepford housewife. To teachers, she repeatedly has proven her philosophy of education is well-grounded in the principles of ignorance. The proof? Fifty percent of all new teachers continue to flee the school district. And that ugly statistic hasn't changed under Janison's leadership (or lack thereof).Therefore, voters, it truly is time for change. Now, please, start your homework.

Chip Mosher is a simple classroom teacher in Las Vegas.