Teaching Public School In Nevada
I love my state. I'm one of the rare people who was raised here.
When I was a young girl, I received a first class education in rural Nevada. I went on to obtain degrees and successfully compete at every University I entered on both coasts.
It is so frustrating to see Nevada education disintegrate.
As a new teacher, I would never have thought I would be close to 50 years old and worried about a pay freeze every other year. Or losing my insurance because the district was trying to manipulate me into a position of having expensive sub-par, for-profit insurance. The money isn't the real problem for me - it is the repeated and terrifying attacks on educators that is the source of real anxiety. Instability, broken promises, hopelessness, degradation, abuse, and continuous harassment. What horrible thing will happen to me next? Taking my pay is another straw on the huge pile of problems.
Real teachers have become expendable and are now being replaced with substitutes. The message is clear to CCSD (Clark County School District) teachers - who cares about you?
The additional message is: we will hire a substitute or a temporary and save money to boot.
I would never have thought my state and community would allow Trustees who are illiterate bullies to make such terrible decisions for employees. Trustees who attack the weak and proclaim themselves God-like or Saviors; How does the public allow such a travesty? It's foul to sit in these board meetings which are conducted with genuine malice. I have watched elected officials come down into the audience and oppress and harass employees.
It's not entirely their fault, Trustees are elected by a public who seems to hate educators. I believe Trustees feel justified in mirroring that hate. That said . . . True leaders would stand up for what is right.
A climate of disgust for public schools and employees has been nurtured and become repeated rhetoric in almost every Nevada news outlet and written publication. Teacher bashing is a trolling past-time. Sadly I know my own district has been involved in these public relation stunts at times against employees. Tragic but true . . . True leaders would not allow that to happen.
It is obvious that many in my state do not like kids or the women who teach them to read. The community refuses to acknowledge it must spend money to educate students. I'm hard pressed to find the district involved in addressing these issues. Teachers fight for funds and then must fight to keep funds - this after a 14 hour work-day. Then we have to fight at the next level to try to move the money to the classroom. This on top of our full-time jobs. Now we will be asked to have our pay frozen - but support the district's work to get bond money?
No pay.
No insurance.
No supplies.
Teachers need to lobby for education money.
And a substitute will take your teaching job next year because you have zero due process too.
Anyone see the severe problem with this logic?
Nevada and my district must spend time and money on public school employees. Nevada must provide resources to teachers for students who are in need. Somehow in Nevada politics, those in power, have lost sight of the at-risk kids who depend on schools the most. At the district level, Trustees intentionally ignore certain communities or spend money on testing or other fads that are not truly helpful. So at-risk teachers must beg at every level for the tools to be able to do the actual job.
Nevada depends on teachers to provide almost everything to our impoverished young community -- while also allowing teachers to be disparaged non-stop?
Vegas' education system has become a corrupt and horrible cesspool. The elected leadership are foul, unethical and corrupt. I see campaign donors favored and vendors get contracts for products never used. I see trips and perks and people who claim to not get payment - yet somehow Trustees get perks and special things which I would consider payment. An audit by the IRS may be appropriate. I sit in meetings and watch billionaires manipulate the Trustees. The same meetings where employees are laid off or not paid or hurt. New Trustees laying claim to projects that have been in legislative committees for six years or longer - just disingenuous. Trustees are also building jobs for themselves and their friends too. All questionable since they claim to have zero money.
I'm not alone. Everyone is watching. This is what the community means when they scream - school district waste. Yet the administration acts like my asking for a box of paper will bankrupt the entire system. What a shame- because it was not this way when I grew up here. Fine and caring people used to run for positions on school boards and serve with integrity and honesty. I'm sure mistakes were made, but never at the high level I'm routinely seeing at every board meeting.
The chief negotiator for CCSD, Eddie Goldman, also sits on the United Healthcare Board - or he did. A former Trustee, Alderman, also had connections to this insurance corporation. Goldman wants the teachers to move into this for-profit United Healthcare Insurance possibly because of his personal connections. If not criminal, this is at least unethical.
It is likely that our contract is affected by Eddie Goldman's connections to United Healthcare, and the previous mishandling of the move of Support Staff to United Healthcare, and the debt CCSD owes because of poor contract language
Nothing was ever perfect - but 30 years ago Nevadans got a really great well-rounded education and the teachers were central to that process. Schools were not run by politicians and salesmen with expensive snake oil products and gimmicks. We were competitive because we funded and treated teachers with respect.
It is very difficult to watch my state which was the best in the nation while I was attending school - disintegrate into an abusive, disrespectful public school environment for kids and teachers. I cannot over-emphasize how truly hateful and out of control the current CCSD School Board Meetings have become. The last one I sat through was the most discriminatory meeting I ever attended. Foul and filled with hate speech produced by attendees the Trustees invited from their churches. The abusive intolerance mixed with scripture was unbelievable. Hours and hours of repeated discrimination fully allowed or encouraged by those conducting the meeting.
I place the blame directly on the elected leadership of the Trustees who had everything handed to them this last legislative session and can't seem to take those financial gifts and treat people fairly. They speak of being fair but then act unfairly to those under their control.
One billion dollars cannot cure mismanagement or incompetence.
Our community needs to remove these school board members - and do it fast.
Seriously - They are not able to do the job. It has become intolerable on too many levels to cure.
--Angie
PS
Angie also alerted me of this insanity:
Pitbull opens a Nevada charter school and celebrates slot machines with PLAYBOY on his twitter?
Has Nevada gone crazy?
We cannot have comprehensive, medically accurate and inclusive sex education -- but the Trustees allow a celebrity to open a school while he is also tweeting with PLAYBOY bunnies in the Casinos.
We have discussed sex education for three years at the local school board level with the Trustees intentionally stacking meetings with local church groups. The meetings have been a horrifying display of discriminatory hate speech and open homophobia.
While a rapper celebrity with his bunnies tweets about his new Nevada charter school?
The message this sends to this school teacher is . . . money allows you to do whatever you want in my state. If you are a real person concerned about being a leader in the nation in repeat teen pregnancy, STDs, and health/safety for all students in Vegas (not just students with involved parents) - you get shut down by the political manuevering by Trustees and local church groups.
If you are a hard working Nevada school teacher who cares about kids get ready for abuse, harassment, and attacks - only billionaires and politicians need have an opinion about what should happen in Nevada classrooms.
Do I need to be a rapper so that every child in Vegas can get an adequate education?
This is nuts.
This is school choice?
And terrible for kids.
Nevada gets weirder by the day. The charter school madness MUST END.
Thanks to Angie for her tireless work for Nevada's (often marginalized) youth.
