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, August 27, 2020
Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda & addendum
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 to view public comment submitted on agenda items
- Click here to view public comment submitted on non-agenda items
Board Approved Consent Agenda
Highlights include:
- Updates to Board Policies & District Regulations:
- Data sharing agreement to support connecting students with access to internet.
- Item 4.07, Grant-funded Professional Goods and Services Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund, United States Department of Education, was removed from the agenda.
Trustees Heard a Presentation on Focus 2024 Student Success Measures
The board heard a presentation on progress towards the Parent and Community Support Objectives outlined in the Focus 2024 Plan (summarized below).
Parent and Community Support Priority Area 1: Leverage internal resources to help parents/guardians support student achievement and attendance
Parent and Community Support Priority Area 2: Secure strategic external resources and community partners
Parent and Community Support Priority Area 3: Improve trust in and perception of the Clark County School District
Trustees discussed the critical importance of ensuring information is reaching families through modes and platforms that they are comfortable with in a language they can understand. Trustees also discussed the need to ensure community partnerships are sustained throughout distance learning and into recovery.
Click here to see the Focus 2024 Plan
Click here to see the presentation
Trustees Approve Updates to Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (AZAC) Bylaws
The AZAC provides recommendations to the Board of Trustees on changes to attendance zones for schools. In addition to non-substantive language clean up, updates to the bylaws include adjusted dates for appointments and reappointments, and AZAC member attendance policies. Trustees discussed the need for improved dialogue between members of the AZAC and the community. Additionally, board members discussed the importance of making strong selections for appointees.
Click here to see the approved bylaws.
Board Heard Update on Site Based Technology Support Pilot
The purpose of the pilot program was to research options for technical support funds to be used at schools in order to improve access to technology support services. The pilot utilized teachers to provide technology support to their school community. CCSD staff has decided to not continue with the pilot, as they found that utilizing licensed teachers for this support was not cost or time effective for teachers, and unduly increased workloads. CCSD will continue to maintain a site based technician model, and will explore utilizing support staff that can receive technical training and be dedicated to technology support.
Trustees discussed the need to ensure that experts are available for site based technicians to leverage as various technology needs arise.
Click here to see the presentation
Trustees Approved Legislative Bill Draft Topics (4-3)
Each legislative session, the Clark County School District Trustees may put forward two Bill Draft Requests (BDRs). Based on feedback from the Board at the August 13 meeting, Trustees were presented with the following topics for consideration:
- Mental Health Support
- Internet Connectivity for Students
- Prioritizing Staff Efficiencies
- Sex Education opt-out
- Certified Librarians in Every School
- Automated Keycard Entry System
The board discussed each option, and identified that they should prioritize items that have little or no monetary cost and items that cannot be addressed through either state, district, or school policy. Trustees voted 4-3 to move forward with BDRs related to internet connectivity for students and prioritizing staff efficiencies by minimizing redundancies and unfunded mandates set forth by the Legislature in previous sessions. The vote included a directive to the Superintendent to pursue funding for Suicide Prevention programs to support the mental health needs of students and educators.
Click here to view the presentation
Click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Board Heard Updates from Superintendent Jara:
- Superintendent Jara welcomed new principals at Roy Martin Middle School and Aggie Roberts Elementary School
- CCSD is working to address communication around the amount of time students are required to attend live instruction. Additionally, CCSD is implementing security features to ensure the digital safety of students and educators engaged in online learning.
Requests for Agenda items:
- Discussion on Canvas implementation, internet connectivity and outages, student access to YouTube, and recording lessons
- Information on students that have unenrolled from the district