LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick wants answers.
She claims that the county gave CCSD $12 million to fight truancy, but it has not worked.
She wants to know what happened to the money, but she says she’s met with crickets.
See FOX5 anchor John Huck and Kirkpatrick’s discussion below:
Huck: Commissioner, tell me about this $12 million that has not been accounted for.
Kirkpatrick: It’s really disappointing because the county stepped up when the district said that they had an issue with the truancy. We stepped up, and we set up a program to their liking.
Now, we have a hard time sharing data, we still have an absentee rate that continues to go up. We’re just asking. If this money is not going to a good use then we’re going to repurpose it for social services.
That’s where we’re at.
Huck: Why do you suppose they’re not sharing that information with you? You are a Clark County commissioner.
Kirkpatrick: I think that they stand behind some a rule that says some legal opinion that it’s privacy. However, I’ve checked with over 40 superintendents across the country, and they don’t see it that way. It’s just a disappointing fact that they can’t be part of our collaboration.
Huck: Where do things stand today, then?
Kirkpatrick: I brought up to the county commission that we may need to redirect those dollars and to put them in places so that we can ensure that kids are getting the services that they need.
Huck: How about truancy? I know during COVID it was a bad problem. Has it improved at all?
Kirkpatrick: It has. I mean, across the nation and in the high 30 percentage. We’re no different. At the same time, what are we doing to make it better for kids to go to school?
It dropped by one percentage point in two years. That’s not enough in my mind, because kids can’t learn if they’re not in the classroom.
Huck: Is the answer throwing money at it?
Kirkpatrick: The answer is not throwing money at it. We went out and we’re gonna say, “Hey, why why is your daughter not in school today?”
Well, [parents or guardians say] she doesn’t have any clothes because she’s grown and it’s changed. Or she’s babysitting. That is what the county does. We are a safety net to help them get those resources. If they’re not sharing the data, we can’t ensure those kids are getting those proper resources.
Huck: What’s your take on the Clark County School District?
Kirkpatrick: Frustrating.
Huck: It seems that because they share their opinions with us that it’s dysfunctional.
Kirkpatrick: Here’s what I would tell you. A missed opportunity. I went through the Clark County School District system. We should all be working together, but they continue to want to do things in a silo, which is problematic in the last five years.
We’ve asked the district, “Let us give you money toward preschool.”
Nothing but roadblocks, right? No, we can’t not enough room.
We’ve said, “let us build a safe key room so our kids have a place to go. You can use it during the day.”
Nope, we don’t want to do that. Open Doors – Open Schools started in ‘05. Let us share the space. We’ll pay our fair share, but let us share it.
Nothing.
So it’s frustrating as a community member when you really want to be involved in your schools and there’s just no way to do that.
Huck: Do you think a new superintendent can change that? Or is it just too big?
Kirkpatrick: My personal opinion is it’s just too big at this point.
FOX5 reached out to the district on some of Kirkpatrick’s claims, we have not heard back.
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