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.
Clark County School District Board of Trustees
What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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
Click here to find your Trustee District
How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5pm at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar
Can community members engage at Trustee Meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Community members can sign up to speak after the agenda has been posted– by calling the Board Office at (702) 799-1072 at least 3 hours before the scheduled meeting, or signing up in-person at the beginning of the meeting. Prior to each agenda item being voted on, speakers can share their perspective after the Board’s discussion and prior to the vote.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda
What happened at this meeting?
Public Comment
Members of the public submitted comments online. Public comment was not read directly into the record, and rather an oral summary of each comment was provided to Trustees.
- Click here & here to view public comment submitted on agenda items.
- Click here to view public comment submitted on non-agenda items.
Trustees Approved Consent Agenda
Highlights:
- Purchase awards totalling $1.1 million, including $580,000 for medical equipment and furniture for students with disabilities.
- Contract with Rethink Ed for a web-based package of supports for students on the Autism Spectrum.
Trustees Discussed Agreement for School Psychologist Contractors
The 5-year agreement with Jackson Therapy Partners, LLC provides for a limited number of school psychologist contractors to be placed in schools when the district is unable to recruit and directly hire individuals to fill school psychologist vacancies. Trustees discussed the need for a long-term strategy to strengthen the school-based mental health professional pipeline and improve working conditions for CCSD school psychologists. This item will come back before the board in November.
Click here to see the reference material
Trustees Approved Scholarship Funds
The Susan Brager Occupational Education Scholarship provides $1,000 for an eligible CCSD high school senior engaged at least two years of occupational education. The scholarship is administered annually through the Public Education Foundation.
Trustees Approved Contract with Applied Analysis
State law authorizes the Board of Trustees to issue general obligation bonds for the construction, design or purchase of new school buildings, remodeling and repairing existing buildings and ground, and acquiring sites for building schools. Trustees approved a contract with Applied Analysis, an economic and policy research analysis firm, to develop a legislative strategy that extends the district’s bonding authority for at least 10 additional years.
Click here to see the reference materials
Click here to see the contract
Trustees Provided Input on School Reopening
Trustees heard a presentation on the COVID-19 positivity rates from Dr. Fermin Leguen, Acting Director of the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD). Dr. Leguen shared that it is unlikely that metrics originally set to signal the safe reopening of CCSD schools will meet acceptable levels for reopening in the near future. Based on this, along with consideration of the impact of distance education on student learning, mental health, and community stability, Dr. Leguen shared that SNHD would be supportive of CCSD reopening under a hybrid-model with continued implementation of mitigation strategies such as mask-wearing and social distancing. Trustees expressed concerns about the safety of students and staff upon reopening with high positivity rates in the County. There is no current timeline for CCSD schools to reopen in-person.
Trustees also provided considerations for the district’s reopening plan, to be presented to Trustees at the November 12 meeting. Suggestions included:
- Prioritize in-person learning for young students, students with highest needs, and those least successful in distance learning
- Limit interaction between groups of students and adults
- Ensure employees have the option to continue to work from home
- Create an audit and monitoring system for ventilation improvements at school sites
- Create a comprehensive communication plan that outlines mitigation strategies and prepares the public in advance for the pivot to in-person school
- Convene mental health professionals and experts within the district to identify social-emotional support strategies
This was not an action item.
Click here to see the presentation
Click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal