The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions
are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
Washoe County School District Board of Trustees
What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The Washoe County School District Board of Trustees are publicly elected decision-makers for the school district. They are responsible for providing oversight to the Superintendent and establishing District-wide policy. Trustees are accountable to work with their communities to improve student achievement.
Click here to learn more and see a list of current Trustees.
How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Tuesdays) at 2 pm both virtually and at the Central Administration Building Board Room, 425 E. 9th St., Reno, NV 89512.
Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings.
Can community members engage at Trustee meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Currently, members of the public can submit comments on agenda and non-agenda items through email or voice recording. Public comment can be provided in person or via email. Email comments should be submitted to publiccomments@washoeschools.net.
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Washoe County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback.
What happened at this meeting?
Trustees Appointed Board Leadership Roles
Trustees approved the appointments of Elizabeth Smith as Board President (6-1), Adam Mayberry as Board Vice President (7-0), and Joe Rodriguez as Clerk (7-0), for 2024.
Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights include:
- Final revisions to Board Policy 4110 – Talent Acquisition
- Agreement between WCSD and the Board of Regents for the Higher Education Path to Independence Program
- Several bid awards
Explore the consent agenda here.
Trustees Approved Resolution 24-001, Authorizing Up To $2.3 Million of Medium-Term Obligations for the Purpose of Acquiring School Buses and Other Support Vehicles
Trustees approved authorizing new school bus and vehicle purchases in the amount of up to $2.3 million in medium-term bond obligations.
Explore the resolution.
Trustees Adopted Resolution 24-002, Proclaiming January 9, 2024, as Law Enforcement Recognition Day at WCSD
Trustees approved a proclamation to recognize January 9, 2024, as Law Enforcement Recognition Day at the District.
Explore the resolution and the presentation.
Trustees Received a Presentation on the Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB) Awards
NASB’s new school board member of the year is Elizabeth Smith, WCSD Board President, and the 2023 NASB school administrator of the year is Stacey Black, principal at Gerlach K-12 School.
Trustees Heard a Presentation from The Discovery Museum on Their Partnership with the WCSD
Team members from The Discovery Museum provided highlights of their partnership with the WCSD, as well as its community contributions. They include:
- Discovery hosted 11,490 K-8 WCSD students during the 2022-2023 school year..
- Discovery provides bussing as well as financial assistance to cover the costs of camps, field trips, and museum admission for qualifying schools and students.
- Discovery will provide onsite classroom STEM labs and programs through their Science Delivered outreach program.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Received an Update on the Implementation and Usage of the i-Ready Assessment Tool in Elementary and Middle Schools
Staff presented an update on implementing and using the i-Ready assessment tool in elementary and middle schools.
Explore the WCSD i-Ready expectations and the presentation.
Trustees Discussed the Implementation and Utilization of the District-Wide Installment of Contegix Crisis Alert Wearable Mobile System
Trustees discussed the implementation of the Centegix crisis alert system, which was approved in March 2023 and implemented in August. WCSD staff will wear or carry the security badge. In the event of an emergency, team members will press the security button on the badge three times to dispatch an alert to their team, providing the team member’s name, current location, and alert type.
Explore the memo.
Trustees Approved the Voluntary Withdrawal of the Association of Professional and Technical Administrators (APTA) as the Bargaining Representative for Professional Technical (Pro-Tech) Employees and Recognized the Washoe Professional Technical Association (WPTA) as the Exclusive Bargaining Representative for Pro-Tech WCSD Employees
Trustees approved the voluntary withdrawal of APTA as the exclusive bargaining representative for WCSD’s Pro-Tech employees and recognized WPTA as the exclusive bargaining representative for Pro-Tech employees. The decision for voluntary withdrawal stemmed from a lack of shared community interests between Pro-Tech employees and the school psychologists.
Explore the written withdrawal by APTA and the WPTA ballot and results.
Trustees Approved the Official Job Description for the Superintendent of Schools for the WCSD
Trustees approved the official job description for the Superintendent of Schools with modifications:
- Removal of language that reads, “A typical way to obtain the knowledge and skills would be:” under the minimum qualifications.
- Update experience line to: Five or more years of experience as an executive level leader and/or administrative leader.
- Amend line 14 to: Responsible for the overall management of emergencies and the safety of students, staff, and visitors to include the school police department.
- Amend instances of his/her to their.
Review the draft job description.
Trustee Reports
Report highlights included:
- School visits and chats with students, teachers, and principals
- Attendance at sports events
- Meeting with medical professionals to address mental health for students in sports
- Discussions on hiring, recruiting, and the diversity manual with talent and equity teams
- Presenting at Incline Village’s rotary program
- Passing out donuts and coffee to school police
- Attending the Wooster IB Graduation ceremony and North Valley High School’s gym dedication
- Superintendent recruitment process
- Galena HS Outdoor Academy, debuting in the 2024-2025 school year
Interim Superintendent’s Report
Report highlights included:
- 1:1 meetings with all trustees
- Meetings with associations on a monthly basis
- Meetings with community groups including the Guinn Center and the Reno-Tahoe International Art Festival
- Recognizing January as School Board Recognition Month
- Gratitude to Trustees for all their recent work
Public Comment
- Expanding extracurricular and athletic opportunities for students to get students engaged in school
The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for January 23, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.
