Vol. 2, No. 22
.jpg)
September 15, 2005
Nevada's Online State News Journal
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . | |||||||
 |
CRIMINAL DEFENSE |
COPYWRITING
|
|
Top News Story:
The Big Money Today Is In Higher Education -- If You Happen To Be Named President
CCSN President To Make More Than Federal Cabinet Members; More Than Highest Ranking Military Officers
by Johnny Gunn
If the Board of University Regents accepts the recommendations of Chancellor Jim Rogers, Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) president Richard Carpenter will be in line to make more money than U.S. Senators and Congressmen, more money than federal cabinet members, more money than the highest ranking (four-star) admirals and generals, and far more than the average Nevadan.
According to figures from the Census Bureau, Nevada's per capita income is a relatively low $30,529 and Richard Carpenter, president of CCSN is in line to be making $218,800 annually. He is low on the list of higher education presidents in Nevada, but high on national lists. Nevada's higher education ranks well below national averages as far as scholastics, but the pay scale for college and university presidents is well above average.
On a national scale, a president at a college about the size of CCSN would be making about $178,184. At the moment, the lowest paid higher education president in Nevada is Paul Killpatrick at the relatively small Great Basin College in Elko. With all the perks that go with the job his annual haul is about $193,300. Carol Harter at UNLV is the highest paid Nevada educator at $309,047.
Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and John Ensign (R-NV) each make $145,000 as do the three Nevada members of the House of Representatives. The President of the United States on the other hand takes in $450,000 a rather paltry sum when you consider what top corporate leaders rake in.
The questions being asked most often when discussing pay scales at education facilities is how does the pay relate to the results? In Nevada not very well. There are some that believe the concept of teaching has taken a wrong turn by attempting to follow a corporate schedule for individuals getting ahead in their field. For teachers, the only means of getting ahead is to step into administration. In other words, being the best teacher takes you out of the classroom. That might work in the industrial world where a person moves from worker to shift boss to general foreman and so on, but it is detrimental to the teaching effort according to many that have studied the field.
There is only one way to judge education and that's by the product turned out. Not much different from general business. A good product should sell well. When the product is lacking and isn't well received, businesses would look to make changes to make the product better. Does this automatically mean spending more money on something that doesn't seem to be working? Not in the real world.
Re-tooling, re-packaging, re-defining would probably be on the agenda at a board of director's meeting if a commercial product was offered with the pathetic results that come from Nevada's education process. It might mean top heavy administration would need to be trimmed, it might mean that good teachers need to be kept in the classroom and given incentive to stay there, it might mean the way education dollars are spent needs to be re-defined.
Currently the politicizing of Nevada education certainly isn't working.
Governor's Commission on Educational Excellence
Governor Kenny Guinn announced his appointments to the recently formed Commission on Educational Excellence. The commission has been charged with furthering efforts to improve the achievement of pupils in elementary and secondary schools. "The individuals I have selected have a formidable job ahead of them," the governor said, "and an incredible opportunity to change the outcome of education in Nevada's struggling schools."
The commission has come about from SB404 passed by the 2005 Legislature. The governor has noted the failure of Nevada education and says, "This commission provides the ability to uncover teaching methods that have proven effective in enhancing our educational system."
According to SB404, the commission must be comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, two elementary school teachers, one secondary school teacher, one elementary school principal, one secondary school principal, one administrator from either Clark or Washoe County, one administrator from a rural county school district, and one parent.
Governor Guinn said, "With more and more of our schools being identified as needing improvement, we must do everything possible to assure our educators have the tools they need to succeed."
The commission:
- Keith Rheault, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Max Brown, Teacher, Fay Herron Elementary School, Las Vegas
- Adriano Ocampo, teacher, Sandy Miller Elementary School, Las Vegas
- Pete Hall, principal, Anderson Elementary School, Reno
- Roger Jacks, principal, Desert Pines High School, Las Vegas
- George Anne Rice, associate superintendent, Clark County School District
- Caroline McIntosh, assistant superintendent, White Pine School District
- Chanda Cook, parent, Las Vegas
The governor indicated he was pleased that the legislature had followed through on the recommendations he had made during his state of the state speech early this year. At the time of the announcement of the commission the governor said, "The funding available through this legislation will allow schools to implement improvement plans already in place, as well as those they may develop in the future."
•••