For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, school instruction recently was abruptly canceled in the Las Vegas Valley. On Sept. 12, in the early hours of the morning, I and 1,500 other students received an email from Donna Levy, principal of Southwest Career and Technical Academy. The email, an emergency announcement, informed the community that student instruction would be canceled for the day. This news was broken less than 40 minutes before the bell, effectively stranding dozens of high school students who had already arrived on campus, including me.

In a last minute attempt to accommodate parents who rely on a consistent school schedule for their teens, the Windmill Library opened in order to help with supervision for affected students. It is likely that the school will now have to schedule students for a contingency day later in the year to account for the lost time.

The school cancellation was not an isolated incident. On the same day, three other schools in opposite corners of the Las Vegas Valley canceled instruction for the same reason: coordinated teacher sickouts.

In my estimation, this was the vital ammunition that the Clark County School District (CCSD) needed to make a successful yet unwarranted push against the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) in the ongoing struggle during teacher salary contract negotiations. The battle between CCEA and CCSD has been a bitter war of attrition that has been raging since the beginning of July and into the new academic year. Three months later, the community is starting to understand that this feud has affected students — and will continue to do so. 

After CCSD filed a plea for an injunction following the sickouts, a judge sided with the school district and issued a warning to CCEA to immediately cease union-coordinated strike actions under threat of a $1,000 per day fine. Public employee strikes violate state law.

Despite adamant statements from CCEA’s Executive Director John Vellardita that the teachers union was not involved in these sickouts, his testimony fell short in a court of law. This leaves teachers around the district in a state of limbo as the negotiations now enter an uncertain arbitration process. 

What captivates me more than the injunction is the source of the evidence used by CCSD attorneys to prove that the sickouts could be attributed to union-coordinated “strike actions.” The core piece of evidence was an anonymous whistleblower email sent to the deputy superintendent of the school district that appears to be from a staff member of my high school

The email alleges that a central organizer at the high school I attend has been coordinating sickouts while making conscious efforts to avoid detection from administrators. If these allegations are true, it pains me that a teacher would jeopardize the legitimacy of the entire union mission — not just for the well-being of teachers, but for my well-being as a student. 

The consequences of these organized district sickouts have gone beyond the legal blowback that CCEA has suffered. Anecdotally, I can say that the atmosphere at my high school has been suffering as a result of the ongoing political and legal soap opera.

Some staff have divided themselves into opinionated factions. While some believe the strikes should have gone further, others realized the adverse effects that teacher absences have had on students and the larger school infrastructure. The only commonality between the two groups is that the injunction has fizzled the motivation for further activism.

It feels wholly unfair as a student that I should have to be caught between the union conflict and the negative school atmosphere that has followed. 

In my view, the first step to understanding the issue holistically is to acknowledge that the community outrage regarding school cancellations around the district is certainly justified. There are reasons that anti-strike laws exist not just in Nevada, but in dozens of states around the country. Public employees are essential to fulfill the basic needs of society. Education is needed to help provide a sense of safety, normalcy and progress in our community.

However, we cannot let a single misstep by the teachers’ union undermine the underlying motivation of the protest movement: teacher salaries. Though a court can legally compel teachers to cease what it deems as strike actions, this doesn’t change the simple reality that the quality of public education relies largely on the treatment of teachers. If district teachers don’t feel they are being compensated appropriately, educational quality will certainly suffer. 

Despite being adversely affected by the situation, I am still sympathetic to the union’s cause. The school year started with a small decrease in salary for teachers throughout the district. Even if the ways CCEA and teacher groups express their opinions about the situation is flawed, there is certainly merit to the case that CCSD’s teachers need to be compensated appropriately for their services.

Furthermore, they are correct to reject sheepish excuses from district officials such as CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara who have cited budget limitations for not paying our essential employees in accordance with CCEA’s demands. A budget issue should be a non-challenge in a grossly underemployed district such as CCSD. Though maintaining a responsible budget is a legitimate fiscal concern for district officials, costs should be cut elsewhere before putting teachers salaries on the chopping block.

I believe stagnating teacher salaries in Nevada, a state which routinely ranks education among its most pressing issues, is irresponsible. Teachers, who are essential public employees, should not be penalized for the district’s inability to allocate funding from the state budget to essential areas. This is a legislation issue that is outside of their control. The district should make compromises within its budget to improve teacher salaries, not the other way around. 

The reality remains that the future for teachers and students within our district is uncertain. The negotiations between CCEA and CCSD, which are now entering arbitration, could take months, if not longer, to resolve.

This issue is fundamental to the core of our education system. So long as teachers are not satisfied with their working conditions, student education will suffer. Ultimately, we need to reassess the basic issues underlying the district’s system, including considering paying fair wages, offering good benefits and prioritizing employee retention. Each of these issues need to be addressed before we can look forward to the future of our community. If not for the sake of our educators, then for the future of our students. 

Ethan Bull is a founder of Nevada Youth Debate and the opinion editor of the Southwest Shadow at Southwest Career and Technical Academy. He is also a freelance writer and volunteer for the Libertarian Party of Nevada.