GUEST
Carolyn Edwards, Board President, Clark County Schools
It’s a costly and potentially embarrassing mistake for Clark County Schools.
Last spring, Sunrise Mountain principal John Barlow signed an agreement to host a conference for the National Association of Student Councils. But someone forgot to tell the school board. Now the district must host an event with a $100,000 price tag, money that will come out of the schools emergency fund.
“We’re looking into where the breakdown in communication was, and where the breakdown in planning was,” says CCSD Board President Carolyn Edwards.
Principal Barlow has since been reassigned to CCSD’s central office, but not because of the Sunrise Mountain mishap. “People make mistakes all the time,” says Edwards.
The school board president says the hope is to keep CCSD’s part of the cost to under $50,000, instead of the projected $100,000 but it’s too late to back out entirely – the event has been publicized and 900 participants are expected.
“Really, that would be punishing kids. So an adult didn’t follow the rules and we’re going to punish the kids? I don’t think so,” says Edwards.
Although the board is removed from the day-to-day operations of the district, Edwards made it clear that the governing body expects more precision from the administrative gatekeepers.
“My message was very clear – we have protocols for a reason. As a board we expect them to be followed.”