Replacing Reno’s Homeless Shelter With A More Effective Model (Part II)
by Paul D. White
Recommendations:
Chronically homeless vagrants REMAIN on the street for ONE REASON.
Misdiagnosis of the homeless situation by the City of Reno has led to pursuing failed policies of pity rather than policies of accountability and genuine compassion.
The Reno Police Department, in dealing with chronically homeless vagrants, has not been allowed to enforce the municipal code equally for ALL citizens. Officers are being ordered to act as social workers rather than strong, fair, law enforcement officers. Reno’s chronically homeless vagrants have arrogant contempt for the City’s well-intentioned but wrong-minded efforts. They have NO respect for the law and NO respect for the countless people offering help. Without being held accountable in any way for their situation, they have no reason to change their lifestyle or their choices.
Sever all ties with HUD funding of the homeless shelter. Fund the shelter program with a fraction of what is currently spent via a 3-way donor partnership between the City of Reno, a local business coalition, and the community.
Rationale -Increased reliance on HUD homeless funding has increased Reno’s problem with chronically homeless vagrants. More can be accomplished with less funding that is unrestricted by counterproductive HUD policies and mandates.
ALL chronically homeless vagrants seeking shelter must pass drug and alcohol tests.
Rationale -Reno’s years of providing homeless shelter without requiring a commitment to sober living has been a failure. Addicted clients not working toward building clean and sober lives will maintain criminal lifestyles in wet house shelters that facilitate continued substance abuse and law-breaking. No amount of time or money invested in addicted clients, without sobriety requirements, will yield anything more than temporary results.
Any chronically homeless vagrant desiring a shelter bed: -Would be charged $200 per month, payable with job earnings, disability checks, or donating food stamps.
-Would be required to seek employment, accept life counseling, participate in daily cleaning of the facility, and participate in treatment for mental health issues, if needed.
-Would be allowed to stay in the dormitory a maximum of 8 weeks. Individuals desiring an overflow bed would pay $3 per night that would not include any use of the dormitory facilities.
Rationale -Reno’s HUD-mandated, no accountability approach has resulted in increased homeless related problems including less homeless vagrant employment, increased vagrant crime against individuals and property, and increased numbers of individuals using the shelters. Many chronically homeless individuals, from all regions of the U.S., come to Reno for an indefinite stay with its readily available meals, entertainment, and homeless shelter accommodations.
Eliminate the 2-tiered-justice system of special courts for chronically homeless vagrants. -Direct the Reno Police Department to begin full, impartial enforcement of the municipal code for all residents, especially Sections 8.08, 8.10, and 8.12, dealing with “offenses against persons, public property, and public peace.”
-Create a smaller, lower security, less expensive jail facility to incarcerate chronic misdemeanor offenders. It would accommodate the projected increase in chronically homeless individuals once Reno Police Department began to fully enforce Reno’s municipal code.
Rationale -Requiring Reno Police Department to practice soft, social-worker- style, discriminatory law enforcement that favors chronically homeless vagrants and establishes a two-tiered judicial system for the chronically homeless, has resulted in increased violent crime rates. A lower security jail facility for misdemeanor offenders, many of whom would be service-resistant homeless vagrants, would deter additional chronically homeless individuals from coming to Reno, encourage a portion of Reno’s chronically homeless vagrants to utilize existing homeless services, and motivate others to leave town.
Ban unauthorized group feedings of the chronically homeless vagrants on Record Street by community organizations.
-Unauthorized group feedings enable the homeless vagrant lifestyle, discourage independent living, and is unnecessary, due to existing and available food options (see Section II. A
-Dozens of cities have banned unauthorized public feedings. Some cities still allowing them have had outbreaks of various diseases stemming from this practice. According to the Washoe County Department of Environmental Health, allowing unauthorized feedings increases Reno’s liability for lawsuits stemming from illness and/or death related to tainted food.
Close the “pit” at the Record Street “campus” and require Reno Police Department to fully enforce Reno’s municipal code ordinances against loitering, drugs, possessing stolen shopping carts, blocking sidewalks, and publicly storing personal property.
Rationale -City Hall’s practice of declaring Record Street a homeless shelter “campus” is legally incorrect. Record Street is public property. All city laws apply.
-The only individuals loitering on Record Street near the homeless shelter should be those waiting to be seen by intake counselors.
-The “pit” is a magnet for criminal activity due to city leadership preventing Reno Police Department from fully enforcing the law.
Withdraw from participation in the county’s failed “10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.” Let Reno take personal responsibility for its own chronically homeless vagrant issues.
Rationale -The Washoe County “10-Year Plan to End Homelessness” has been a failure. Homeless related issues have worsened dramatically since the plan was implemented years ago.
-The Homeless Plan’s primary vision: “…providing housing for everyone who needs it … for an indefinite period,” is absurd and unattainable. It is neither necessary, nor affordable, nor would it encourage homeless vagrants to take personal responsibility for their lives or to become self-supporting individuals.
-The Homeless Plan is a bureaucratic snafu. It is overly committed to “community coalitions” of multiple service providers. It contains excessive duplication of services and confusing, contradictory approaches. It has no strong, central leadership. Reno’s City Council needs a focused, strongly led one-agency approach to deal with the homeless shelter and basic issues of chronic homeless vagrancy. Other local organizations offering ancillary services to homeless vagrants would be encouraged to work independently.
Prevent homeless vagrancy growth by addressing two predictors of homelessness: poor education and inadequate parenting.
-The city would create ongoing advertising campaigns focusing on these two critical issues.
Nevada public schools rank worst in the United States. The advertised message would promote higher learning standards, schoolwide drug testing, and mandate work experience as a graduation requirement.
Free parenting classes would be encouraged for all parents, and would be required for those with children previously involved in the criminal justice system.
Rationale – Four leading predictors of future homeless vagrancy are:
Poor education • Early drug and alcohol use • Ineffective parenting • No work experience
Implementing this component would be a strong, preventive measure against future homeless vagrancy problems, and help protect Reno’s future.
III. Summary
After many years of unsuccessful spending, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars, Reno’s HUD- funded homeless shelter on Record Street has dangerously failed both the community and the homeless vagrants it was established to help. Reno’s wet housing shelter, a mandated model when using HUD funding, has resulted in a program that:
De facto encourages the daily, rampant drug and alcohol abuse that occurs, both inside and outside of the facility
Does not require residents to look for employment
Does not require residents to accept mental health counseling when needed
Does not require residents who have income to pay anything for services received
Does not require residents to clean up after themselves
Reno’s failed shelter has made the homeless vagrant problem immeasurably worse and threatens Reno’s future financial stability by negatively impacting tourism and business industries. The principles and components described in this document for operating the homeless shelter have been proven. They have transformed the lives of numerous chronically homeless vagrants. With operating costs far less than the current program, there is no reason not to try it.
Replacing Reno’s Homeless Shelter With A More Effective Model
by Paul D. White
Homelessness is not against the law in Reno, but ALL* of the following are:
• Sitting or lying down in public entryways • Urinating or defecating in public places • Illegally camping on public property and blocking sidewalks • Illegally camping anywhere on the banks of the River Truckee River • Possessing or using drugs, paraphernalia, or open-container alcohol • Possessing stolen property (including shopping carts) • Aggressive panhandling and disturbing the • Storing personal belongings in public places • Loitering and littering
*(Reno Municipal Code: Sections 8.08, 8.10, 8.12) *(Reno Municipal Code: Sections 8.08, 8.10, 8.12)
hold Institute 9480 Gateway Drive Suite 100o, NV 89521 (775) 685-820
I. Overview: A Misdiagnosis
Reno’s chronically homeless vagrants are living on the street by CHOICE — NOT due to a lack of services or resources.
The only way to end Reno’s problems with the Reno’s Record Street homeless shelter is to “begin rightly” with an accurate diagnosis of the problems related to chronically homeless vagrants. Reno’s problem with homeless vagrants has been misdiagnosed for years as primarily a lack of services and resources. As a result, Reno has supported ineffective programs that have worsened the problem, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in direct and indirect costs. The use of HUD funding to create and maintain the current homeless shelter mandates operating as “no-barrier or low- barrier housing,” more commonly known as “wet housing” where:
• Clients are permitted to continue using alcohol and drugs and are not drug tested.
• Clients are not required to seek employment or mental health counseling when it is needed.
• Clients are not required to pay anything for their shelter, nor are they required to help clean the facility.
By alternating three-month stays between the homeless shelter and the overflow warehouse, chronically homeless vagrants are able to remain in the facility indefinitely. The first Housing First “wet house” approach was implemented in the United States 26 years ago, but it has neither lowered homeless vagrant populations nor redeemed many lives. Reno’s wet house homeless shelter has simply geographically centralized the chronically homeless vagrants. Meanwhile, their population has increased, while Reno’s quality of life has decreased. Crime rates are higher and growing vagrancy threatens Reno’s future.
A. Chronically homeless vagrants are NOT “hungry.”
Every person living on the street has access to:
• 25 food pantries in the Reno/Sparks area managed by Food Bank of Northern Nevada, providing more food than any individual or family could eat
• Either $200 per month of free food stamps, and/or a mental or physical disability check ranging from $700-1,000 per month
• A variety of community organizations such as Gospel Mission and St. Vincent’s who regularly serve meals at their sites
B. Chronically homeless vagrants are NOT “trying to find work.”
The Reno area has over 20 employment agencies desperately seeking employees, and most businesses in town are currently hiring. A one-minute phone call and a 30-minute interview minimally result in a $400 to $600+ per week job almost immediately. As the Reno office of the Nevada Department of Employment recently stated on local television, “Anyone in Reno who ISN’T working, doesn’t WANT to work.”
C. Chronically homeless vagrants are NOT living on the street because there is “no affordable housing.”
Using the earnings potential figures in Item B and with savings from four-to-six weeks of steady employment, chronically homeless-vagrants can choose between dozens of available rental rooms and apartments ($400 – $900 per month). Rentals are even more quickly attainable and affordable when sharing a residence with a working roommate.
D. Chronically homeless vagrants are NOT living on the street because “there are not enough mental health services or drug/alcohol treatment facilities.”
Mental Illness – The Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services recently stated that there would never be a situation where anyone seeking treatment for mental illness would be turned away. Services would be immediately provided.
Drugs/Alcohol – The Reno area has over 40 Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings per day, and more than a dozen inpatient facilities and sober living homes.
E. Chronically homeless vagrants are NOT living on the street because “the community doesn’t care about them.”
Chronically homeless vagrants are living on the street because they don’t care about the community that has made abundant, comprehensive services available to them. Spending more on chronically homeless vagrants who refuse to utilize readily available services is wasteful and an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds. While rejecting free community homeless services, chronically homeless vagrants choose to remain living on the street where they regularly violate City municipal code quality-of-life laws. Choosing to continue their lawbreaking lifestyles, they disproportionately utilize emergency services, spread filth and disease, negatively impact the downtown area, cost the city millions in annual tourism dollars, contribute nothing to building Reno’s future, and constitute a growing burden on Reno’s already troubled financial situation.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” (John Adams – 2nd President of the United States)
How Do We Fix Our WCSD Schools? Part VI of a 6-Part Series
Overview:
For over a decade, the Washoe County School District (and all Nevada public schools) have ranked last in the nation or almost-last in the nation in quality of education. WCSD superintendents and school boards have primarily blamed our failing schools on a lack of funding. That is provably false because 10 states fund their public schools equal-to or LOWER-than Nevada, and all 10 of those states outperform our schools.
But if the solution for improving our schools is NOT more money, then what is it?
Our failing schools result from 6 main issues that need to be dealt with. Each issue will be explained in more detail in this column and in the three succeeding ones.
Part I -(Feb. 23) FACTS MATTER – WHAT TO DO about our WCSD schools
Part II – (March 2) WASTE LESS MONEY on buildings and non-instructional support services
Part lll – (March 16) WASTE LESS TIME and MONEY on instructional-related employees
Part lV – (March 28) MORE ACCOUNTABILITY regarding WHAT is taught and HOW
Part V – (April 5) BETTER DISCIPLINE and CONTROL of student behavior
Part VI – (April 20) BETTER LEADERSHIP
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Part VI: BETTER LEADERSHIP
“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” (Proverbs 29)
There is NO hope for the future of Washoe County’s 104 public schools and 62,000 students until WCSD leadership changes from top to bottom, beginning with Superintendent Kristin McNeill and Board President Angela Taylor. There currently exists NO “vision” in this duo’s leadership regarding how to proceed in creating schools that provide accountable academic teaching, a safe, secure and moral school environment, and don’t mismanage and waste almost $1 Billion per year in annual funding.
SUPERINTENDENT KRISTIN MCNEILL
Superintendent McNeill was selected by the School Board as WCSD’s new superintendent approximately one year ago. McNeill’s appointment directly contradicted the recommendation of the professional search group hired by the Board, who didn’t even rate McNeill among the top 6 superintendent candidates in a very weak field of applicants.
Why did the Board’s professional search group NOT recommend Kristin McNeill to be the new superintendent?
Perhaps because she was the #1 assistant, supporter, and enforcer for the previous superintendent whom the Board terminated for incompetence and unethical behavior
Perhaps because according to her own bio-profile, McNeill has ZERO firsthand experience in solving WCSD’s most urgent problems at the secondary school level, including:
On-campus drug abuse
Assaultive student behavior
Extreme disparity in academic achievement between racial groups
The lowest academic achievement in the nation
Resisting the growing political pressure of the Extreme Left and their efforts to force schools to virtually ignore academic teaching, and instead, emphasize politicized curriculum that is historically distorted and inaccurate, anti-White, anti-law enforcement, and anti-American.
With academic achievement and student behavior continuing to worsen, Superintendent McNeill’s response has been to totally hide from the public the chaotic, dysfunctional situation that exists in our schools. She keeps campuses locked-down even when schools ARE in session: preventing ANY unannounced campus visits by either Board members or the community. Meanwhile, McNeill and Angela Taylor continue to pass WCSD policies that threaten the jobs of teachers who dissent from WCSD’s Leftist political views, or discuss any topics with students or peers that depart from WCSD’s political viewpoint.
BOARD PRESIDENT ANGELA TAYLOR
Like Superintendent McNeill, Ms. Taylor has ZERO qualifications to be a Board member, let alone to serve as its President. Her background bio shows that Taylor has never taught traditional classes for one minute in K-12 public schools (similar to the rest of the Board members), and has ZERO firsthand experience regarding ANY of the school issues she makes policy for. What Taylor DOES have is hardcore arrogance toward refusing to answer questions raised by the community, and a race-based agenda that supports the teaching of anti-White/anti-American curriculum.
Ms. Taylor has the other 6 members of the Board right where she wants them: totally under her control and thoroughly intimidated. With the occasional exception of tepid opposition from new Board member Jeff Church, Taylor delivers McNeill just what superintendents crave: a Board that shuts up, nods their heads, and rubber-stamps whatever outrageous policies the Superintendent wants approved. Taylor has repeatedly shown her willingness to flout the law, and is never held accountable by the rest of the Board.
When Taylor, who is Black, recently uttered an unarguably racist, anti-White statement to the press, the rest of the Board members refused to enforce their own “anti-racism” policy that had just recently been approved, and censure Taylor.
When a photo of Taylor surfaced from a recent Board meeting, it showed her sitting at the Board’s dais, wearing no Covid mask, and talking to a staff member less than 2 feet away. After that Board meeting, Taylor closed future Board meetings to the public, stating that the unwillingness to wear masks by those who oppose her, constituted a serious danger to staff and students at the meetings. Taylor made no mention of violating her own rules regarding mask wearing.
CONCLUSION: WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD FIXING OUR DYSFUNCTIONAL WCSD SCHOOLS?
For anyone who is serious about improving WCSD schools and correcting the numerous problems identified in this 6-part series, removing the Superintendent and Board President from their positions must be the top priority. Trying to work with, compromise with, or find common ground with either the WCSD Superintendent or Board President, would be an exercise in futility. Both McNeill and Taylor have provided abundant proof of:
Their total lack of experience in the jobs they hold
Their complete inability to fix our troubled schools
Their lack of honesty and integrity in dealing with the public and their students
Their willingness to promote themselves and their Leftist policies, via curriculum that is inaccurate and distorted anti-White, anti-law enforcement, and anti-American.
The law provides several avenues for removing both McNeill and Taylor from their positions. Anyone who cares about our failing schools and the horrendous impact they will have on Washoe County’s future if they are not fixed, should immediately start working with local groups dedicated to accomplishing this result.
“We have it in our power to begin the world (and our schools) again.” (Thomas Paine – 1776)
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” (John Adams – 2nd President of the United States)
How Do We Fix Our WCSD Schools? Part V of a 6-Part Series
Overview:
For over a decade, the Washoe County School District (and all Nevada public schools) have ranked last in the nation or almost-last in the nation in quality of education. WCSD superintendents and school boards have primarily blamed our failing schools on a lack of funding. That is provably false because 10 states fund their public schools equal-to or LOWER-than Nevada, and all 10 of those states outperform our schools.
But if the solution for improving our schools is NOT more money, then what is it?
Our failing schools result from 6 main issues that need to be dealt with. Each issue will be explained in more detail in this column and in the three succeeding ones.
Part I -(Feb. 23) FACTS MATTER – WHAT TO DO about our WCSD schools –
Part II – (March 2) WASTE LESS MONEY on buildings and non-instructional support services)
Part lll – (March 16) WASTE LESS TIME and MONEY on instructional-related employees
Part lV – (March 28) MORE ACCOUNTABILITY regarding WHAT is taught and HOW
Part V – (April 5) BETTER DISCIPLINE and CONTROL of student behavior
Part VI – BETTER LEADERSHIP
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Part V: BETTER DISCIPLINE and CONTROL of Student Behavior
Having Good WCSD Schools will be IMPOSSIBLE until strong, consistent student discipline is established and implemented regardless of race.
WCSD schools lack good discipline.
Who says so? A poll of WCSD teachers conducted by the QOL-Reno foundation, and numerous interviews with local WCSD students. numerous interviews with local WCSD students. Findings included the following:
Almost every responding teacher had either been assaulted by a student, or knew a teacher who had. Assaults ranged from punching, spitting, and knocking teachers to the floor, to stabbing teachers with scissors, to hitting them over the head with computers, to severely cursing and/or abusing them verbally.
When students who exhibit these behaviors are sent to the principal’s office by the teacher, they frequently are sent BACK to the same teacher’s room within a very short period, often with a bag of popcorn and a soda provided to them as a reward by the principal. The demoralizing effect this has on classroom teachers and the classroom learning environment is immeasurable.
But then things get even WORSE.
Under WCSD’s official “Restorative Discipline” Plan, teachers explained that after a student had been physically and/or verbally abusive and been removed from their classroom, that they usually had to meet after school with the student, parent, and principal. The meeting would usually start with the teacher(?!) being asked what THEY could have done differently to avoid the conflict. The student is then asked WHY they committed the offense, (hoping to have the students counsel themselves) but students typically give an excuse like how they were victimized by some emotional reaction to a prior incident, or they think the teacher doesn’t understand them or is prejudiced, etc., and the student offenders take no accountability for their actions.
Restorative Discipline has been a national failure. It was set-up to reduce suspensions of primarily Black students, but it’s made this group’s behavior, as well as academic progress WORSE, because they sense that no one cares enough to hold them accountable for their behavior and they get frustrated and act out more. And yet, WCSD’s Board President and Superintendent deny reality: supporting this Restorative Discipline method and insisting it’s been very effective (which is true ONLY if they mean “effective” in making our schools worse.)
A majority of teachers who responded to the poll have given up on requiring ALL their students to behave, work, and learn. Students who don’t want to work are not kicked out, but are put in an assigned area of the classroom where they’re allowed to talk, sleep, eat, play or their phones, or talk to each other, and WORST of all, learn nothing! Given the national statistics -locally corroborated by interviewed students and administrators speaking off the record – that – minimally – 20-30% of all students in classes are under the influence of controlled substances, this do-what-you-want group is definitely where the drug-users would primarily (but not exclusively) be found.
You might wonder if these do-nothing student groups are worriedthat they will fail their classes and not graduate. They are NOT worried, thanks to the “Credit Recovery” programs that allow them to do as little as five, 1-hour make-up sessions of multiple choice questions at the end of a failed semester class, receive a C on their report cards, and continue their march toward functional illiteracy and a worthless high school diploma.
If this is how poorly WCSD handles major disciplinary issues, you can guarantee that the minor infractions that lead to major issues are abundant, including: excessive absenteeism, tardiness both coming to school and passing between classes, possessing all kinds of dangerous and/or inappropriate contraband, ignoring the dress code, and talking loud and vulgarly in the halls and at lunch. Interviewed students said that Black and Latino students can use limitless racial slurs with no repercussions, but White students who use them usually go immediately to the principal. THIS is the kind of racial bias that is incredibly detrimental to ALL students, and makes ALL races lose respect for the rules and for the leaders that are too weak to impartially enforce them.
How Can This Lack of Discipline Problem Be Fixed?
Like most school problems, it’s easy to fix if you have the right leadership.
Good schools and Horrible Schools usually have almost identical rules. What’s the difference? Good schools have the moral courage and integrity to enforce their rules impartially with ALL races. Horrible Schools do not enforce their rules, and when they DO enforce them, it is not done impartially. If their Black or Latino students break the rules more frequently than White or Asian students – and they DO for several reasons – instead of the school going straight to the parents and getting them to parent more consistently and strongly, the leaders of Horrible Schools refuse to punish the Black and Latino students equally by saying the “system” is “culturally biased” or “doesn’t understand the need for different behavior standards for different races,” etc. The result? Students of ALL races at Good Schools do well academically and behaviorally. Meanwhile, Horrible Schools see an ever-increasing gap between the academic performance of White and Asian students as opposed to Latino and Black students, because the latter are less likely to be taught by the school to respect the rules and take personal accountability for their actions.
Horrible School leaders worry about what might happen to THEM – what the Superintendent might think about THEM if they suspend too many Black or Latino students when they break the rules. Good School leaders worry about what will happen to their Black and Latino (and all) STUDENTS if they DON’T suspend them when they break the rules and teach ALL students accountability for their behavior, regardless of their race.
WCSD will never improve until:
They have strong, consistent discipline for ALL students. That will never happen until WCSD has different leadership.
They open up the schools to unannounced classroom visits by Board members, parents, and vested community members, so the community can see first-hand the extent of these problems.
“We have it in our power to begin the world (and our schools) again.” (Thomas Paine – 1776)
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” (John Adams – 2nd President of the United States)
How Do We Fix Our WCSD Schools? Part IV of a Series
Overview:
For over a decade, the Washoe County School District (and all Nevada public schools) have ranked last in the nation or almost-last in the nation in quality of education. WCSD superintendents and school boards have primarily blamed our failing schools on a lack of funding. That is probably false because 10 states fund their public schools equal-to or LOWER-than Nevada, and all 10 of those states outperform our schools.
But if the solution for improving our schools is NOT more money, then what is it?
Our failing schools result from 6 main issues that need to be dealt with. Each issue will be explained in more detail in this column and in the three succeeding ones.
Part I -(Feb. 23) FACTS MATTER – WHAT TO DO about our WCSD schools –
Part II – (March 2) WASTE LESS MONEY on buildings and non-instructional support services)
Part lll – (March 16) WASTE LESS TIME and MONEY on instructional-related employees
Part lV – (March 28) MORE ACCOUNTABILITY regarding WHAT is taught and HOW
Part V – BETTER DISCIPLINE and CONTROL of student behavior
Part VI – BETTER LEADERSHIP
______________________________________
Part IV: MORE ACCOUNTABILITY regarding WHAT is taught and HOW
HOW Subject Matter is Taught Matters
WhatEVER our WCSD schools are teaching, it’s clearly not being done in a way that ensures the students’ mastery of curriculum skills. This has much to do with how future teachers are being taught how to teach. Education programs at universities like UNR have devolved into saturating future teachers with Leftist ideologies, rather than instructing them in how to clearly and accountably present learning objectives in a way that results in students mastering those objectives. Additionally, as WCSD school discipline has become weaker, teachers have to deal with more in-class student drug use and disrespectful behavior, which destroy the orderly classroom environment that’s required for any real learning to take place.
WHAT’s Being Taught?
It’s becoming almost impossible to find out!
Using the unjustified excuses of “school safety” (before Covid), and “Health concerns” (since Covid), combined with passing Board Policies that threaten teachers who try to teach BOTH sides of controversial issues, rather than presenting ONLY WCSD’s Leftist political agenda, the Superintendent and Board have completely closed off unannounced classroom visits by Board Members, parents, and concerned community members. This means that the community’s only way to get an accurate picture of what goes on in our schools, is from students themselves, or from the rare teacher who is willing to speak openly.
Refusing to tell the community how bad our school situation is, teachers use the morally unacceptable justification that they fear for their jobs. If more teachers don’t start speaking out, teaching in our schools will become even more dangerous, abusive, and frustrating than it already is, and the flow of good teachers leaving the district will continue to increase.
A partial list of what’s being taught in our schools that should NOT be taught, includes the following.
Social Studies
Students are taught a distorted, inaccurate history of the United States and its social issues. They are indoctrinated with curriculum materials promoting the teachings of groups like Black Lives Matter, the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory proponents. Students are taught, among other things:
• That the American Revolution was not fought for freedom and liberty but to protect slavery
• That America is a white supremacist society that has never benefited anyone of color
• That our Founding Documents are no longer relevant and need to be changed
• That our Founding Fathers did not create an exceptional nation, and that there has been no significant progress in race relations since 1776.
Sex Education (S.H.A.R.E program)
The SHARE sex education program is nothing more than a how-to primer for encouraging under-age (and illegal) sexual activity.
• At age 9: they’re teaching children the details of sexual intercourse
• At age 11: the curriculum asks girls how they decide what to do “when” they’re attending alcohol-fueled parties and get asked by “men” if they want to have sex.
• Teens are taught the most minute details of every type of birth control, their right to not be controlled by their parents’ decisions, all the specifics of abortion
Moral and religious values virtually don’t exist in the SHARE sex-ed curriculum. “Abstinence” and marriage are only slightly mentioned a couple of times as vocabulary words, parents are non-essential in a child’s decisions about sex, the law against minors having sex is de-emphasized, and the explosion of STD’s among minors is ignored.
Homosexuality is NOT taught objectively as what it is:
• A legally protected lifestyle that is chosen by less than 5% of the population
• Homosexuality is 100% a choice; there is NO genetic/hereditary connection
• A choice that leads to a 40% higher suicide rate and a 400% greater run-away rate for teens
• A choice that the CDC says results in 2% of the population (homosexual men) accounting for 70% (!) of the new HIV infections annually.
• Gender is 100% biological; it is NOT a choice.
What IS taught about homosexuality?
• It’s all about your feelings. If you THINK you are, you ought to consider the possibility.
• Sexual promiscuity is neither mentioned nor discouraged, and graphic sexual how-to’s are described in detail.
• It’s “normal and good” – NO downside regarding statistics is mentioned
• It’s conflict with most religious teachings is not mentioned
• Homosexuality is presented as a possible solution to the common, confused sense of identity and feelings in teenagers
The SHARE curriculum – for both heterosexuality and homosexuality – is nothing but an overt attempt to abnormally sexualize and pervert the natural innocence and trusting nature that is inherent in ALL children.
To summarize, our WCSD students and schools continue to rank worst-in-the-nation for one reason. The teaching of essential academic skills and the enforcement of a normal, accountable plan for student behavior have been almost entirely superseded by the desire of the superintendent and Board President to promote their Extreme Leftist views on politics and race, respectively. As long as the community allows this to continue…it will.
“We have it in our power to begin the world (and our schools) again.”
(Thomas Paine – 1776)
Feedback is welcomed. Contact Paul White at white.pauld@gmail.com
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” (John Adams – 2nd President of the United States)
How Do We Fix Our WCSD Schools? Part III of a 5-Part Series
Overview:
For over a decade, the Washoe County School District (and all Nevada public schools) have ranked last in the nation or almost-last in the nation in quality of education. WCSD superintendents and school boards have primarily blamed our failing schools on a lack of funding. That is provably false because 10 states fund their public schools equal-to or LOWER-than Nevada, and all 10 of those states outperform our schools.
But if the solution for improving our schools is NOT more money, then what is it?
Our failing schools result from 5 main issues that need to be dealt with. Each issue will be explained in more detail in this column and in the three succeeding ones.
Part I -(Feb. 23) FACTS MATTER – WHAT TO DO about our WCSD schools
Part II – (March 2) WASTE LESS MONEY on buildings and non-instructional support services
Part lll – WASTE LESS TIME and MONEY on instructional-related employees
Part lV – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY regarding WHAT is taught and HOW
Part V – BETTER DISCIPLINE and CONTROL of student behavior
______________________________________
Part III: WASTE LESS TIME and MONEY on instructional-related employees
Much is written and spoken about reducing the “administrative bloat” in our WCSD schools, but no one ever provides the details. At last, here’s a list:
• WHICH instruction-related jobs should be eliminated or modified • WHY
Total “Bloat reduction” savings that could be realized: $12M – $20M per YEAR!
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1) WCSD Superintendent’s “Leadership Team.”
Here is where the “bloat” starts. Go to this link to see the head of the snake. https://www.washoeschools.net/cms/lib/NV01912265/Centricity/Domain/97/WCSD%20Or%20Chart%2009%2017%202020.pdf
How critically important do the following jobs sound to you? “Chief Strategies Officer,” “Chief Accountability Officer”, “Chief Information Officer,” “Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer,” ad infinitum. WCSD schools consistently rank worst in the nation, offer no accountability for their failure to teach our kids, and stonewall community requests for information or interaction. What exactly do these “Leaders” – and the dozens of people who work underneath each one of them DO all day that is improving our students’ education? Answer: Little and nothing.
Bloat Reduction Action That Could Be Taken Immediately:
As a career educator, I assure you that you could entirely eliminate 1 out of every 3 “Leadership” departments, AND eliminate 1 out of every 3 employee positions in the REMAINING “Leadership” departments. No one would ever know they were gone. Any possible slack that needed to be picked-up could easily be handled if the remaining “leadership” departments simply provided taxpayers with an honest day’s work.
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2) Do We Really Need FIVE Extra Superintendents?
For approximately 60,000 students and 100 schools, the WCSD superintendent hires an ADDITIONAL 5 “Field Superintendents” to help her supervise school operations. Compare this with the superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District. He is responsible for 1,000 schools and 600,000 students (10X more than WCSD) and he only uses SIX Field Superintendents.
Bloat Reduction Action That Could Be Taken Immediately:
If you think 3 or 4 of WCSD’s excessive Field Superintendent positions could be eliminated immediately without ANY decrease in education quality, AND at an annual savings of close to a million dollars…you’re right!
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3) School-site Administrators and Non-teaching “Specialists”
Unless they were willing to devote hundreds of hours to research, WCSD superintendent McNeill has made it virtually impossible for the public to see how many non-teaching administrative positions there are at each of WCSD’s 100 schools. This is intentional on the superintendent’s part, because it enables her to hide the absurd amount of administrative bloat. The Board needs to demand that the superintendent immediately provide a concise list of all the non-teaching positions at each school, so that the Board can easily spot the wasteful over-staffing and eliminate it.
Bloat Reduction Action That Could Be Taken Immediately:
A school of 600 or fewer students does not need ANY assistant administrators. Larger schools only need one assistant. With approximately 100 schools, WCSD could eliminate an average of 2-3 administrative positions per school (200-300 positions). Additionally, the large number of non-teaching “specialist” positions funded by extra subsidies should be eliminated and the money re-directed, because these positions contribute little or nothing to the overall education of our children.
What could WCSD do with the several hundred displaced individuals who are qualified as teachers but don’t teach? Offer them full-time classroom teaching positions – at a teacher’s pay scale. That would immediately eliminate WCSD’s teacher shortage, lower class size, and save millions of dollars.
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4) A Non-teaching Educator is an Oxymoron –
The majority of WCSD administrators, including principals, are licensed to teach students but DON’T – and HAVEN’T for decades. That’s why their policies and expectations for teachers are unrealistic and counter-productive. That’s why they don’t have any real soul-connection with most WCSD students.
Bloat Reduction Action That Could Be Taken Immediately
EVERY administrator, from the superintendent on down, should be required to teach one class per day – every day. I know it works because as a principal and superintendent, I did it for years, and so did ALL our school administrators. It’s an easy activity to schedule and gives the students the thrill of being taught by a “boss.” Teachers appreciate their supervisor working alongside them in the “trenches”, and the administrators gain renewed respect for the challenges that teachers face all day/every day. This proposal would provide WCSD with at least 600 extra teaching hours per DAY. That’s the equivalent of 120 full-time teachers per DAY – at NO extra cost. Teacher and substitute teacher shortages would become a thing of the past.
“We have it in our power to begin the world (and our schools) again.”
(Thomas Paine – 1776)
Feedback is welcomed. Contact Paul White at white.pauld@gmail.com
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