CCSD Needs a House Cleaning and I'm Ready for The Task

Clark County School District is the 5th largest school district in the country.  Since that distinction has arrived, and recently before, the educational environment has steadily deteriorated.  In January 2010 Education Week Magazine rated Nevada 50th in the Nation.  This is the second year in a row for that notorious distinction.  This is the result of bad management at the top.  Current Trustees are trying to shirk the blame by any propaganda that they can come up with.  The unfortunate conclusion is inescapable.  Bad management followed by lies to avoid the blame is more than the taxpayers and parents should or can put up with. More...

 

School Board Praises Superintendent Walt Rulffes and Nominates Him For a National Award

As a part of their program to reward substandard performance the School Board Trustees have nominated failed superintendent Walt Rulffes for "superintendent of the Year".  To the dumbfounded amazement of onlookers CCSD Trustees publicly affirmed the success of Rulffes after grading a report card that he himself set up.  Copies of this report card later revealed that according to Rulffes own carefully selected criteria he was given praise and this nomination after achieving a grade of 51%.  The failure of the Trustees to set up a grading system that has anything to do with what parents want their children to learn is part of the blame free "Policy Governance" system that the district pays for annually both in fees for the packaged system and in failed management.

Maybe Walt is being rewarded for something that parents, students, educators and tax payers don't understand?  My comments were mentioned in the LVRJ editorial this week.  Here is the link:  http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/wait-to-replace-rulffes--or-not--91350384.html   Commentator Glenn Cook brings up the School Board's plan to hire an immediate replacement for superintendent Rulffes.  Last month there was a scandal wherein the public discovered that the school board gave superintendent Walt Rulffes a huge bonus while simultaneously planning to cut teacher and staff pay and cut school days.  The scheme came to light after Trustee Edwards reported in her newsletter that "The additional benefits discussed were awarded in 2006, prior to..." (Edwards being seated on the board).  The Article.  Jim Haug of the LVRJ then posted a recording of Edwards voice reading the decision to give the big bonus into the school board minutes during October 2009.  Last month Trustee Young attempted to get the matter heard publicly.  she told attendees at the school board meeting that she did not understand what she had voted for (I think that she meant that something was not explained) and wanted to bring the item back.  Walt then gave his notice (of leaving) when his contract was up in August 2010.  The bottom line is that the School Board and the CCSD Public Relations Machine is real anxious to get this story behind them.

No "F Minus" Please... Education Week Names Nevada 50th in the Nation for Education

Education Week Magazine named Nevada 50th in the nation for a second year in a row in it's January 2010 issue.  The dubious distinction was first announced in January 2009 based upon analysis done in 2008.  that year was before the big economic downturn hit the Clark County School District which is the biggest educational entity in the state by a large margin.  CCSD educates 72% of Nevada's students. In spite of the districts persistent failure to comply with the requirements of 'No Child Left Behind' and 'Adequate Yearly Progress' the Trustees led by Board President Janison and Vice President Edwards continue to congratulate CCSD education management staff for their performance.  The school board is apparently unaware that the letter equivalent of 50th in the nation is usually an F minus. More...

Families Flee Las Vegas Due To Bad Schools No Matter What The Economy Is Doing

If you are a homeowner in the Las Vegas valley, like I am, then the Trustees are visiting a disaster on your neighborhood.  I have no idea when it will arrive or if it did already.  But, let me tell you what it is...  When the economy was on the way up people who owns homes in close to town would sell their houses and move to the outlying areas where the new schools were being built.  The new neighborhoods weren't as convenient as the old but the old schools were allowed to deteriorate and it became one more reason to move out.  Neighborhood values slid as families moved outward.  Those left behind didn't notice because they had no kids.  Eventually the neighborhood went down in value and no one knew why.  Much of this was caused by triggering events, mostly AZAC.  When the school that served your neighborhood for many years changes and your kids have to change schools that is one example.  AZAC is how the Trustees have abdicated responsibility for deciding this to. Another reason to go is when AZAC decides to take a group of affluent neighborhoods and send them to a nearby school while annexing a giant trailer park or transient apartment complex into yours.  The next summer everybody is talking new houses and you start thinking that it's  time to go too. 

The current choice encouraging departure by CCSD is when you are free to leave or stay in Vegas.  Maybe you get a chance to transfer with your job and you are a renter.  Maybe you are a young couple deciding to live where her family is or his family is?  The fact that we are 50th in the nation weighs in.

 

To ask questions about voting click here.  Or Telephone: 455-VOTE

Ken can be heard September 7 on the Steve Wark radio show 670 AM.  Time 6:30 AM PST.  Date 9/7/2010. You can also listen online at www.stevewarkinthemorning.com

Ken was on the Steve Wark Show today 09/02/2010.  The show went great and you can hear the interview podcast by following this link www.stevewarkinthemorning.com As of this writing it is not posted yet but we expect it to be up today.

Looks like my opponent has made the owner of the best local TV station pretty irritated.  He wrote Edwards a letter telling her his opinion.

Jim Rogers is supported by a petition of parents for the position of superintendent replacing the soon to depart Walt Rulffes.  Edwards apparently went to visit Rogers and told him that there was a back room deal to make Edwards the President of the school board after the election.  Edwards doesn't get to run the meeting s very often because the current president Terri Janison is not absent much.  But the public and Kevinn Donovan got a taste of what it will be like recently and Jim Rogers had an opinion on that too. Rogers example of Edwards behavior is representative of how I have been treated by those running the board sometimes.

When the school board tells tax payers that parents don't have an interest in education.  Take a look at the school board's interest in the opinion of parents!!!  See if you can figure out why parents have given up on them!!!  The letter is here.  The Las Vegas RJ reported this www.LVRJ.com and so did the Tribune.  www.LasVegasTribune.com   Search on "Edwards".

 

Are you about to register your student for school in the fall?

Are you a parent who is about to sign your student up for the next school year?  Perhaps you are wondering if your nearby school is failing?  (No Child Left Behind or AYP?)  There are a series of steps to rate your school.  These include having the State Board of Education involved.  Right now it looks like you will find out just in time to sign up for the next school year.  This article from the Las Vegas Sun - Explains why.  Also, CCSD does quite a lot of protesting to try to wriggle out of its failing school rankings.  So it may not be over just after the rankings are announced.  All that said... let me give you a hint as to the answer.  Last year 171 of about 300 schools failed.  The School Board wanted to make a 50% high school graduation rate a GOAL!!  (yes it is now below 50%) The feds forced them to raise the standards and the effects of another year of incompetent management from this school board continue to wear on our families.  The odds are that your school has failed.

If your school has failed then CCSD MAY be required to move your child to a school that has passed.  If your school failed last year then...  When you go to register your kid just write on the form requesting that your child be sent to a school that has passed.  The rules are complicated and staff is sometime misinformed.  So just formally request it and see what happens.  If your school is like a school for my neighborhood then there may actually be no nearby school that has passed!

 

Would you like some flyers to pass out?

If you want a hundred then just drop by the office and you can have as many as we have laying around.  If you want more then that then I suggest that you telephone first.  A phone call the day before you come can have over 1000 ready for you to pick up.  We can also print out precinct walk lists if you only want to take them to people who vote.  this will save you a few extra steps.  If you are able to tell us  our precinct that would help us.  But it is not required.  You can get that information from the Clark County Government website. If you just want a handful to show your immediate friends... pick the "Press" menu above and you can download the file and print them.  Thanks!

 

More ethics complaints against the Trustees.

For many years now I have been asking the Trustees to stop their illegal activities and the dishonest and illegal activities of the Facilities department.  As the Trustees have decided to unilaterally ignore this request.  I have filed some complaints.  It is worth noting that there would be no point in trying to get the Attorney General after the School Board because the AG is tasked with protecting them.  My first complaint was against Edwards who was the 4th Trustee joining a Bond Oversight committee meeting.  that made it an unannounced School board meeting and therefore illegal.  Of course the pundants said that I was juts complaining about her because I'm running against her.  Then I went to the ethics commission about President Janison failing to disclose and recuse in a hiring process that involved potentially hiring her husbands boss to be superintendent of schools.  Radio host, Alan Stock, then asked me if I was filing complaints about illegal activities to draw attention to my campaign.  Now I have filed a complaint against Trustee Wright who saw fit to vote for her husband to get a raise.  Wright also voted to grant contractors and extras for a contractor who employed her mother to prepare the accounting to get that money.  does anyone get this simple problem?

I'm running to stop the illegal activities.... Not complaining about the illegal activities because I am running!!!

Here is the link on the Wright complaint.

 

Ken filed an ethics complaint against school board President Janison

Last week Ken filed an ethics complaint with the Nevada Ethics commission against school board president Terri Janison.  Here is my complaint in a nutshell.... The school board Trustees have a strange practice of "Customary illegal activities."  Anyone who reads the law or sees the Clark County Commission or Las Vegas City Council will see a big difference in how things are done at the school board. I have only a few recollections of the Trustees not ignoring the laws that require disclosure and recusing themselves. since they have the habit of playing it fast and loose with basic disclosure they have the idea that they can get away with (almost?) anything.  Janison has been regularly voting on items related to the hiring of a new superintendent of the district after receiving an application personally directed to her by her husband's boss.  State law refers to a financial relationship between Janison and her husbands boss (Jim Rogers) as a conflict. She should have disclosed each time that Janison took an action after the Trustees received a petition from 7000 voters to hire Jim Rogers.  Janison should recuse now that Rogers sent an application letter.  This story is developing.  I was on KXNT Monday 6/28.  Janison went on KXNT on Tuesday 6/29 and made admissions which have led me to further evidence. Attached is the complaint for you to read.

 

The School Board is violating the law in multiple ways. 06/24/2010

Here are a couple of items that I spoke on during this school board meeting. The first is about the superintendent search process.  As usual the Trustees want what they want and disregard the law to get it.  Since Trustee Janison has been President and for a long time before, I have asked the school board to cease their illegal activities.  They don't care about violating the law because there is no discipline in the system for them... other than not getting reelected.  The second video addresses the fact that they finally got some federal stimulus money and decided not to put it to use in improving education!!!  Yes it is true. There are plenty of opportunities to spend capital improvement money where it will actually help students learn.  In this case they chose to spend the money on photovoltaic (electric panels) to save money.  This is an example of laziness by the facilities staff who don't want to think hard to accomplish both goals and the school board Trustees who don't want to think about  education being the primary issue and primary problem.

      

 

Ken won in the primary...  Yahoo!

So the short story is that the top 2 vote getters regardless of party continue on to the general election.  And so I have succeeded in winning in the primary.  Edwards is the incumbent and has lots of money and the endorsement of the school district teachers union.  I believe that the voters who picked the other two candidates are voting against the entrenched incumbent system.  So I think that I have a very good chance of attracting them to vote for me.  I expect to get dragged through the mud pretty soon because now they know I'm a real threat.  So don't be surprised when it happens.  Remember you heard it here first!!!!   Interestingly... Edwards who is the incumbent, outspent me 2 to 1 in the primary and only came out 4 points ahead of me.  With Altman's endorsement I should now be able to get 51% of the vote.   This should be a source of optimism and has resulted in many folks calling me to help. Since the primary many folks have contacted me to help. I'm real glad to have you participate. If you are interested just opt in by clicking "Get Campaign Email" above.

I Want to Hear From You.  With Your Involvement, We Can Clean Up The School District and Make It Better For Everyone.

This election is about more than the future of Nevada Education.  I have been an activist reporting the "Shenanigans" of the CCSD Trustees (The School Board) & top level bureaucracy for many years now.  I know how discouraging it can be to try to get to solutions.  In all of it's existence CCSD has never before taken Nevada to the bottom of the educational spectrum like it has today.    I have a daughter who attends the 5th grade at C. H. Decker Elementary.  I am also the only candidate who has any training in Educational Facility Planning.  In my experience both in seeing what goes on behind the scenes and as a parent I know that the system is broken.   Please join my campaign.  You can volunteer for just one thing or whatever you like!  Education and the careful spending of our hard earned tax dollars are very important and you.  Your children and grandchildren will reap the rewards of my election.  For many years now I have been approached by teachers, district employees and parents who have told me many disturbing stories about what the district is up to.  Many are afraid of retribution to themselves and their children for speaking out.  This is your chance to do something about the bad actors.  This will not only help parents, students and teachers but also will help our community as a whole.

The Top Level Inner Circles of The School District Are Known To Participate In Many Cover-ups To Conceal Waste, Deliberately Squandering Money, Mismanagement, Illegal Activities and a General Disregard for Students, Teachers, Parents and Taxpayers.... Proof Exists!

Gross mismanagement of the entire district has led to being 50th in the nation while drowning in debt.  Parent activists and community activists are cut off  when they reach out to the Trustees.  The press fails to report many of these things because they can't be explained in a "Sound Bite".  Of course many have been reported on but you may have missed them.  James Haug of the LVRJ.com and Karen Gray of NPRI.org have reported on some of the issues and done a good job.  I was however unsatisfied with the amount of reporting that the public hears on these issues.  So I set up www.TalkToCCSD.com.  Since there is almost no end the misbehavior I can't report it all any more than these members of the press.  However that site will give you some idea of how much you have not been told.  More...

Those Who Created The Disaster That We Are Now Having Have Many Excuses!!

I have heard blame placed by Trustees upon almost every other group involved in the education of children.  If not said straight out they certainly imply that parents are disinterested and that many teachers are the problem and that the community at large does not care.  Retirees are blamed for not wanting to spend money on schools because their children are grown and grandkids are not here.  Children are blamed for not speaking good English when they arrive.  State Government funding.  Federal Funding.  Mandated testing...  You name it and the heads of CCSD have tried to put the blame off on in it!  So what ever happened to "The Buck Stops Here"?  The Trustees are the elected officials who we vote in to decide what to do and solve problems.  Do you feel that any problems have been solved lately?  If so please let me know.  If on the other hand, you are tired of excuses and being blamed and want to do something then please get involved.  If you are too busy to get involved then please send a donation to "Committee To Elect Ken Small".  The address is below. More...

 

06/05/2010

SCHOOL BOARD CAUGHT VIOLATING THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN AND TEACHERS

The Las Vegas Tribune has a huge article about CCSD and proof that the Trustees deliberately violated federal law.  I helped Suzanne Thomas put the complaint together.  When we took it to the school board (as usual) they ignored it...   A press release was given to the major news outlets and only the Tribune reported the story so far.  More...

05/27/10

Tonight's School Board meeting was another fine example of how the Trustees "Manage" our School District.  It ran very long and nothing changed from the past.  This time I brought Suzanne Thomas to meet the board.  Have a listen to the board meeting and you will hear that the Trustees have intentionally been into many illegal activities.  The top 3 mentioned at this meeting would be: 1. Paying contractors for work not done. 2. Bid rigging the architect selection process and...

3. Systematically, intentionally, violating the rights of children and employees with disabilities (actually everyone under the Americans With Disabilities Act).   Setting aside such things as having a conscience and complying with federal law, the school board blew off Suzanne's request for a future agenda item to discuss the topic and her offer to help them learn to comply for free.  These School Board leaders, particularly Janison, Edwards and Moulton have real guts.  Facing down people who have evidence that you are deliberately violating federal law is one thing... but don't you think that trampling the civil rights of disabled kids gets you an automatic "A" ticket to hell?

You are going to be reading more about this in the news.  Suzanne is the most widely respected advocate for people for disabilities that you can find in southern Nevada.  And she is not the kind of person who will let go of this.  I have been giving her evidence that this was going on since I told the school board about these illegal activities (again) a few years ago.  Suzanne just found the "Smoking Gun" to prove everything.  Up until now the Trustees just smugly relied on lack of evidence accusations even though you can see what they are intentionally doing from a mile away.  Our State Attorney General has long sense proven that the AG will do nothing to make them comply with ANY LAW.  So Suzanne has filed a complaint with my help to the United States Department of Justice.

Ken Small standing at the front door of Decker Elementary School. The original 1975 door handles do not comply with ADA & 504 and have never been fixed.

 

 

           YouTube Video

(Allow a minute for downloading before you start to watch please.)