Teachers oppose schedule change; CHS principal says it's going forward

Despite protests from teachers this week, Principal Ron Beck said Friday that a schedule change at Carson High School for next year will go forward as planned.

"The master class schedule has been completed," he said. "It's in the works. We are still planning to go with it."

He said he is scheduling meetings with staff members to allay concerns.

Beck announced at the Feb. 28 school board meeting that the schedule at Carson High School would shift next year from six credits per semester to seven, adding an additional class each day.

Instead of attending three 105-minute periods each day, alternating subjects every other day as they do now, students will enroll in seven courses and attend three of them for 90 minutes each day, alternating days.

Teachers Angila Golik and Patrick Mobley told school board members Tuesday that they and other staff members at the high school felt left out of the process.

"I normally am the cheerleader for the school," Golik said. "However, tonight I'm coming to you with a little bit of disagreement."

She said that although Beck had said teachers were on board with the plan, she disagreed.

"I do not believe you got the correct position from Mr. Beck," she said. "He has left the teachers out of the process."

She presented board members with an anonymous survey taken at the high school, with 90 of the 104 teachers responding.

Of those, 48 said they did not support the change, 11 said they supported it and 31 said they supported the change but had reservations.

"That's about a 50-50 split, with lots and lots of concerns," Golik said.

Trustee Barbara Myers said she was worried that this would be the outcome.

"I understand your concerns," she said. "I think this could be a problematic change. My position from two weeks ago has just been reinforced by you coming forward."

Golik said her concerns come as a teacher but also as a mother, wondering whether students can take on the additional homework.

Mobley said he supports the idea of the schedule change, but he felt that it came about too quickly with insufficient planning.

"My biggest reservation is the amount of time we're taking to implement this program," he told the board. "Right now, the way things are set up, we're being kind of pushed into this program. In order to make it be the best it can possibly be, we need to make the right amount to time to do that."

Golik said that in addition to more time, teachers would need training to make the switch.

Beck said the process began in October with the understanding that administrators would be passing the information on to teachers and other staff.

"Evidently that hasn't happened," he said. "I take full responsibility for that, so I'm going to get out and answer as many questions as I can."

He said he has meetings scheduled with each department March 26-30 to discuss the issue.

"This is a process, and it is change," he said. "Sometimes, people are concerned about change. That doesn't mean it's bad. I truly believe this is in the best interest of students."

He said he will also schedule a meeting with parents after spring break.

Richard Stokes, superintendent of the Carson City School District, said he expects the high school staff to resolve the conflict internally.

"We're waiting to let Mr. Beck talk with the teachers and see if they can work out some agreement," he said. "Hopefully, together, we can make the right decision for the students."

Beck said he was optimistic that teachers would come around.

"If I didn't believe we could do this, we wouldn't," he said. "I know the staff will step up, and it will happen. The kids at this school will be better because of it."