LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Dozens of parents are making their concerns heard in front of the Clark County School District office building on Tuesday.
Among them is Stephanie Valdez, who has three children in the district.
I asked, "With everything going on right now with these negotiations, what is coming to mind for you as a mother?"
"It is really frustrating to see how much the district doesn't care about our educators across the valley...it is really hard to have confidence in the district," Valdez told me.
Last Tuesday, September 12, four schools canceled classes due to unexpected absences of staff and teachers.
ABEL: "What comes to mind again as a mother when you are seeing all of this unfold? "
STEPHANIE: "So one of those schools is a school that my kids attend, and honestly—[I] fully support the teachers because they have had enough," said Valdez.
In recent weeks, Channel 13 has reached out to Governor Joe Lombardo's office about his part in the negotiations, but we never heard back from them.
On Tuesday, we were able to catch up with the governor, who was in Las Vegas honoring the Teacher of the Year, Laura Jeanne Penrod, from Southwest Career and Technical Academy. Eventually, the governor no longer took questions from the media on the negotiations, saying he wanted to focus on the teacher of the year.
Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara was also there. During the special assembly, Dr. Jara congratulated the award recipient but did not address the media afterward.
During the news conference, I saw Dr. Jara leaving the gymnasium. I stopped him and asked about the negotiations.
He, too, said he wanted this day to focus on the teacher of the year and that he would not be talking about negotiations.
Meanwhile, teachers, staff, and parents say they want answers. Valdez says happy and well-compensated teachers result in happy and well-educated students.
"It's very discouraging for teachers to continue to show up to give 100% to their students when they know this is not over yet," Valdez said.
Clark County School District sent the following statement to Channel 13 following the rally.
We appreciate parents sharing their perspectives with us. The District supports our educators getting the raises they deserve and proposed a $634 million increase in compensation (not including SB 231 funds to be negotiated later) that includes correcting inequities in the salary schedule for thousands of licensed professionals. After 11 sessions with CCEA and when a resolution could not be reached, CCSD declared an impasse in negotiations to move the process forward. The arbitration process will proceed according to Nevada law.
