Nye County asked to authorize its first charter school

Educator Sable Marandi and a group interested in bettering education in Nye County have been working to establish the first charter school in Pahrump but despite several applications to the Nevada Charter School Authority, the proposal has failed to gain approval.

Now, those behind the Pahrump Valley Academy concept are turning to the Nye County Commission in hopes that this entity will be able to authorize the charter school and allow it to finally move forward. There are a lot of undefined details that must be ferreted out and plenty of legal questions to be answered before any formal action can be taken but commissioners agreed this month to consider the possibility.

“As you know, charter schools are becoming more prevalent,” Pahrump Valley Academy proponent Michelle Caird stated during the Aug. 1 commission meeting. “As you know, with AB (Assembly Bill) 400, signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, it allows counties and other governments to sponsor new charter schools. The mayors of Henderson and North Las Vegas - and no, we are not those communities - but they are seeing the benefit and we hope the county commissioners here do also. The thinking behind this is that no governing body knows the local area better than its own governing body and we believe the county commissioners know our area better than anybody else.”

Pahrump Valley Academy, or PVA, is seeking authorization for kindergarten through eighth grade but would only initially teach kindergarten through fifth grade. Eventually, the school would expand and add additional grade levels to its curriculum, with the goal being a kindergarten through 12th-grade option.

PVA proposed to have an executive director with Marandi taking that position. She would report to a board of directors, who in turn would report to the commission, meaning the county would have ultimate oversight over the charter school.

The proposed board of directors includes: Dr. Tom Waters assuming school site leadership; Tim Burk, who would provide teaching expertise; Dr. Maria Jerinic of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who would be a “bridge” to higher education; J.K. Nelson, who comes with legal expertise; Caird, who would come with human resources experience; and Tynia Dickson, acting as a local parent voice.

“As a unique community, our children have unique needs and we’ll be able to meet those needs,” Caird told the commission.

Marandi emphasized, “To point to why communities authorize charter schools, charters are authorized when and where the public school system is unable to thoroughly meet the needs of the community… Currently, we are one of those communities.”

To back up this statement, the PVA presentation included some statistics about student spending and performance.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Nye County spent $12,843 per student while statewide that average was only $10,112, PVA’s presentation reported. Despite more funding, Nye students are below the state proficiency rate by several percentage points across all subjects. Nye County students were performing worst in high school math, with state proficiency levels at 21.2% while Nye’s math proficiency level was at just 9.3% in 2021-2022.

“I am absolutely in favor of charter schools, I think it is an absolute necessity, especially in areas like this,” commissioner Ron Boskovich stated as the item moved on to board discussion. However, he still had several questions, including whether the PVA team had approached the Nye County School District to see if that entity would be willing to act as sponsor for the charter.

“This is a difficult part because we don’t know who our new superintendent is going to be,” Marandi replied. “But we have great hopes that this can be a true county project.”

Commissioner Donna Cox questioned how the charter would be funded.

Marandi responded that a certain number of dollars is dedicated to each student in Nevada, so if they enroll in a public charter school, those dollars go with them. PVA would operate as a tuition-free public school, Marandi reiterated. “Charter schools are simply the evolution of our public education system. They are not private schools.”

Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi then jumped into the conversation, stating that there were many facets that needed to be dealt with before any authorization could be granted. First and foremost, Nye County is required to apply with the state of Nevada and be given the power to pursue sponsorship of a charter, a process that will undoubtedly take time.

“It’s vitally important that when we do this, that it cannot fail. It has to succeed. There is no option for failure,” Boskovich asserted. “So, it may be a situation where we need to look deeper into this, take some time, step back and evaluate how we move forward with this.”

Commissioner Debra Strickland added, “I’m really looking forward to being able to move forward with an approval for sponsorship. We’re just not at that point.”

Marandi said she and her team realize that this is a process, not an event, and she thanked the board for its consideration of the matter.

Kunzi will now delve into the details of the proposal and bring all pertinent information to the commission at a later date. “I’ll put together a summary of how this process works, what your responsibilities would be in being a sponsor, so you can have the ability to make an informed decision,” he stated.

For more information on PVA’s efforts to become Pahrump’s first charter school contact Marandi at MissMarandi@gmail.com

Readers can find previous coverage on PVA online at pvtimes.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com