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 28, 2025
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 Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights include:
- Several appointments for Board of Trustees members to councils and committees
- Approval of the 2025 Second Quarter Report of Average Daily Attendance and Pupil-Teacher Ratios
- Renewal of the charter agreement with Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School
- Several facilities items
Explore the consent agenda here.
Trustees Discussed the Alignment of Academics for the 2025-26 School Year to Adopt a Targeted Approach to Improve the Quality of Education in Support of the District’s Strategic Plan
Superintendent Ernst and staff provided an update on aligning academics for the 2025-2026 school year to improve the quality of education in support of the District’s strategic plan. Staff provided an overview of the process, including reviewing capabilities and contracts, reviewing the organizational model, and providing thoughtful analysis.
An organizational design compass was also outlined, with items such as organizational alignment, focused leadership, financial stewardship, alignment with guiding principles, continuous improvement, and improving operational efficiencies.
The 2025-2026 organizational model will include chiefs of Secondary Education, Elementary Education, Student Development and Success, and Student Services. Next steps include continued change management and engagement with employees, repeating the process for other areas within the District, ensuring strong transitions and cross-departmental collaboration, and monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting to ensure alignment with goals.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Received a Presentation on Progress Made on Strategic Plan Pillars
Trustees received a presentation on progress made on the pillars of the District’s strategic plan. Highlights included:
- Pillar A: Strong Curriculum and Instruction: (1) Supports Highest Needs Schools, (2) High Quality Instructional Materials in Use, (3) Professional Learning for Educators
- Pillar B: Strong Partnerships among Families, Schools, and Community: (1) Communication with Families, (2) School Choice, (3) Parent Teacher Home Visits, (4) Community Partnerships and Collocated Services
- Pillar C: Elevating Educators: (1) Began 2024-25 with a teacher in every classroom, (2) streamlined recruitment, licensing, benefit and other HR processes, (3) Professional learning for administrators and teachers
- Pillar D: (1) Culture of Excellence and Accountability: Launched new predictive analytics dashboard for graduation monitoring, (2) Hundreds of data visualizations provided to support planning and monitoring, (3) Needs assessment of central office services (focus groups, survey) to identify strengths and areas to improve customer service.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Accepted the PreK-8 Study and to Provide Direction to the Superintendent to Implement Recommendations with new PreK-5 Facilities on Pine Middle School and Traner Middle School Campuses
Trustees approved the PreK-8 study and proceeded with the recommendation for the construction of new PreK-5 elementary schools to house the Smithridge, Dodson, Duncan, Lemelson, and/or neighboring schools. These new facilities would meet current District standards and would be master planned with flexibility for expansion to PreK-8.
Community engagement included the PreK-8 steering committee, engaging principals, conducting teacher and family focus groups, student engagement, and community meetings. Research and case studies also factored into the decisions.
Key findings include that PreK-8 has merit, as Nevada PreK-8 students grew from 5,600 to 29,000+ in 15 years, with the majority in the charter sector. Sixth grade ELA and math proficiency trended higher, likely due to the transition year between elementary and middle schools, and rates of chronic absenteeism at Title I schools is consistently lower among PreK-8 vs. Pre-K-5 and grades 6-8. Operational feasibility was reconfirmed at Pine and Traner Middle Schools.
PreK-8, done correctly, requires increased staffing and costs, with adjustments for additional teachers and additional per-pupil costs. Additionally, based on community input, PreK-8 may not be right for Pine or Traner due to vocal, organized opposition and the concern of the perception of safety for younger students in a PreK-8 environment.
The recommendation of the Committee is to close Pine Middle School in 2026, and Traner Middle School in 2029, to enable construction of new PreK-5 elementary schools to house the Smithridge, Duncan, Dodson, Lemelson, and/or neighboring schools, consistent with design standards, incorporating flexible design for future addition of grades 6-8, and if such expansion occurs, planned physical separation by age and separate entrances.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Approved the Temporary Closure of Pine Middle School
Trustees approved the temporary closure of Pine Middle School, in accordance with Administrative Regulation 7087, at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year in order to reconstruct the PreK-5 facility at that location.
Explore the regulation.
Trustees Received a Presentation on the Guinn Center Report on School Funding in Nevada
Highlights of the presentation from the Guinn Center included:
- Advocating for strategic funding based on the report
- Advocating for equity-driven funding using weights for students who may need additional support
- Navigating gaps and need for improvement regarding school resources and funding following the pandemic
Explore the presentation and report.
Trustees Received an Update on the Legislative Session and the Priorities of the Washoe County School District.
The District’s contracted lobbying firm presented a preview of the upcoming legislative session. Highlights from the presentation included:
- Education remains a top priority, and there will be several proposed policies that affect School District business.
- There is overlap in competing visions in education found within the topics of expanding funding for pre-k, eliminating extraneous reporting, and expanded accountability, among other topics.
- There is ambiguity surrounding the WCSD budget allocation regarding the 2025-2027 Governor’s Recommended K-12 Budget.
Explore the presentation and the legislative platform.
Student Representative Report
Report highlights included:
- Requesting a presentation on developing new CTE schools due to concerns in funding with the current CTE schools
- Assisting setting up a student representative for the Lander County Board
- Actively ready to provide student voice for the district and encouraging others to call upon student opinions
Trustee Report
Report highlights included:
- Serving as a judge for the “We the people” state competition between eight schools
- Various school visits, events, and activities across the District
- WCSD teacher from Vaughn Middle School, Denise Trakas, receiving the Presidential Award in Excellence in Science and Mathematics
Superintendent’s Report
Report highlights included:
- Serving as a keynote speaker for the Northern Nevada Literacy Counsel on a pilot program to engage students
Public Comment
- Urge for more support and hiring for special education teachers based on current challenges educators are facing
- Updates from the Nevada Museum of Art regarding opportunities and professional development resources for educators
The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for February 11, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.
