The Nevada State Board of Education is sweating bullets on this one. SB 540 was heard in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday the 13th. State Board of Education members don’t have to be superstitious to see it does not bode well for them. The bill is exempt from the deadline and carries with it a major overhaul of the state education’s governing system. Under the proposal, the governor would appoint the state superintendent of instruction instead of the State Board of Education.

The State Board of Education would become advisory with the objective of making the Nevada Department of Education directly accountable to the governor. Years of incompetence, dysfunction, and loss of credibility have led to this. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio and chair of the committee made it clear the State Board of Education has brought this on themselves.

A more detailed column about the dynamics involved should be published soon. Let’s just say if the bill passes, it may be the biggest reform for Nevada education in the 2007 Session.

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