Tag: commission

Nevada Ed Watch 1/23/20

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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, January 23, 2020

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

Click here to see the meeting agenda addendum

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding:

  • The value of school counselors and school psychologists in student and family success. 
  • Concerns that some CCSD employees will not be paid according to schedule because of an issue with the payroll system. 
  • Concerns about substitute teacher pay. 
  • Support for the Acceleration Academy Program. 

CCSD Chief Financial Officer Provided an Update on Employee Pay 

Due to an implementation error, some CCSD employees will not receive their scheduled pay for prep buyouts and additional duties such as night school. HCM, IT, and Payroll teams are working to resolve the issue and recommended that CCSD employees call the payroll department if they are affected. 

Consent Agenda Highlights: 

  • Agreement between The Elementary Fine Arts Department of the Curriculum and Professional Development Division and the Nevada School of the Arts (NSA) to develop guiding principles for the operation of the NSA Chorale.
  • Two settlements between the Clark County School District and anonymous parties that total $1.8 million.

Trustees Appoint a New Member to the Sex Education Advisory Committee 

Maggie Cox (District A) was appointed to serve as a new member of the Sex Education Advisory Committee. The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations to the Board regarding content and materials that are contained in sex education units.

Click here to see the Request for Appointment Approval and the committee bylaws.

Trustees Heard Updates on the Implementation of Internal Control Examination Report Findings 

CCSD Chief Financial Officer provided status updates on progress made towards addressing observations identified in the Internal Controls Examination Report performed by Eide Bailly. 

Updates include: 

  • A new district policy related to fraud, and a confidential hotline to report fraud. 
  • New policies related to the use of district vehicles. 
  • The development of policies for controls around school generated cash funds. 

Click here to see all updates presented.

Trustee Reports 

  • Recognition to Nevada State College for the groundbreaking of the Glenn and Ande Christensen School of Education Building  
  • Announcement that the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s Board of Control approved a new 5A sports division.
  • Recognition by the Henderson City Council of Liberty High School as state football champions. 
  • Trustees Wright and Young volunteered to be judges for the Annual Susan Brager Scholarship.

Superintendent Communications

  • The district hired a new Chief Information Officer, Greg Holopof 
  • Dr. Malich is transitioning out of the district to pursue a role with the City of Las Vegas. 
  • The Student Equity and Access Committee released a report with recommended focus areas to achieve equity and access in the Clark County School District. A Blue Ribbon Commission will be formed to continue this work. 

Requests for Future Agenda Items

There were no requests for agenda items during this meeting.

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Nevada Ed-Watch 11/14/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on decisions being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.

Nevada State Board of Education

What is the State Board of Education & what are they responsible for? The Nevada State Board of Education adopts regulations based on Nevada laws, which are passed down to individual school districts in Nevada to implement. The Board has 11 total (7 appointed and 4 publicly elected) members.

How often does the State Board meet? The Nevada State Board of Education meets once per month on Thursdays at 9:00AM. Click here to see the 2019 Board Meeting Schedule. Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar.

Can community members engage at State Board Meetings? A time for public comment is provided at the beginning (for agenda items) and at the conclusion (on any matter) of each Board meeting. There is a time limit of three minutes per speaker. Members of the community providing testimony must fill out a visitor card, available on-site the day of the meeting.

Click here for a list of all State Board Members.

Thursday, November 14, 2019
Nevada State Board of Education Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public provided testimony regarding:

  • Support for the Perkins V State Plan for strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Nevada
  • Support for teacher incentive funds to be distributed this fiscal year 

Board Approved the Consent Agenda

Consent Agenda Highlights:

President’s Report

The President congratulated two Nevada teachers who were recognized with Milken Educator Awards– Ben Nguyen (Clark County School District) and Nicolas Jacques (Carson City School District).

Milken Educator Awards honor early- to mid-career educators with strong potential for professional and policy leadership– as evidenced by effective and innovative instructional practices, student learning results, and other criteria.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Ebert provided the following updates:

  • Acknowledgment of Nevada Department of Education Staff members for helping  districts and schools implement the Nevada Educator Performance Framework.
  • Gratitude for those who have been involved in the statewide listening tours, including students. 
  • Acknowledgment of the National Board Certification program for strengthening teacher skills. 

Board Heard a Presentation on the 2018-2019 Nevada Educator Performance Framework  (NEPF)

The Teachers and Leaders Council presented the results of the 2018-2019 Nevada Educator Performance Framework (NEPF). Board members discussed ways to ensure the NEPF is a true representation of teacher and administrator performance, and that the tool continues to be used as a growth and development tool. 

2018-2019 Teacher Evaluation Results:

  • Ineffective: 0.16% 
  • Developing: 1.62%
  • Effective: 69.92%
  • Highly Effective: 27.06%

2018-2019 Administrator Evaluation Results: 

  • Ineffective: 0%
  • Developing: 0.73%
  • Effective: 73.92%
  • Highly Effective: 25.35%

The presentation also included results for Other Licenced Education Professionals (OLEP), which includes Audiologists, School Counselors, School Nurses, School Psychologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Teacher Librarians.

The board voted to update exigent score ranges for school audiologists in the 2019-2020 school year. All other score ranges will remain the same.

Click here to see the presentation

Board Approved the Fund Distribution Process and Amounts for Teacher Incentives

Senate Bill 555 (SB555) allows for districts to apply to the Department of Education to receive funding for incentivising teachers to teach in Title 1 schools. The board approved the process for fund distribution. 

Below is an outline of the incentives.

New Hire Teacher Incentives:

New hire teachers are employed for the first time at a District or State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) Title I or underperforming school for the 2019-2020 school year. 

  • Total number of teachers districts requested funds for: 1,270.5
  • Total available funds for the biennium: $2,500,000
  • Total available funds for Fiscal Year 2020: $1,250,000
  • Total amount of funds requested by districts: $3,295,000
  • Actual teacher incentive amount for FY20: $983 per teacher 

Transfer Teacher Incentives: 

Transfer teachers were employed at a District or SPCSA non-Title I or underperforming school (for the 2018-2019 year) and TRANSFERRED to a District or SPCSA Title I or underperforming school for the 2019-2020 school year.

  • Total number of teachers districts requested funds for: 834
  • Total available funds for the biennium: $2,500,000
  • Total available funds for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20):  $1,250,000
  • Total amount of funds requested by districts for FY20: $2,102,500 
  • Actual teacher incentive amount for FY20:  $1,498 per teacher 

Current Teacher Incentives: 

Current teachers were employed at a District or SPCSA Title I or underperforming school (for the 2018-2019 school year) and are CURRENTLY employed at a District or SPCSA Title I or underperforming school for the 2019-2020 school year.

  • Total number of teachers districts requested funds for: 7,559
  • Total available funds for the biennium: $5,000,000
  • Total available funds for Fiscal Year 2020: $2,500,000
  • Total amount of funds request: $7,644,966
  • Actual teacher incentive amount for FY20: $330 per teacher

The board approved a request to the Interim Finance Committee to move Transfer funds to Current funds. This request, if approved, would bring the total Current teacher incentive amount from $330 to $382 (an additional $52). 

Click here to see the presentation.

Board Heard a Presentation on the Perkins V State Plan

Staff from the Office of Career Readiness, Adult Learning & Education Options provided an overview of the structure of the Nevada Perkins V State Plan to strengthen Career and Technical Education (CTE). The plan emphasizes access for all students to high-quality CTE programs, employer engagement, high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations and industries, and state and local flexibilities. 

Click here to see the structure outline. 

Board Heard an Update on the Commission on School Funding 

Updates included:

  • Election of Guy Hobbs as Vice Chair of the Commission 
  • Two new administrative positions for the Commission have been filled 
  • The Interim Finance Committee approved a request of $900,000 to contract with subject matter experts to assist the Commission. Click here to read about this in the Nevada Independent. 

The State Board of Education is required to establish regulations for the methodology of setting funding weights, cost adjustment factors, and administrative caps. 

Click here to learn more.

Upcoming Commission meetings: 

  • December 19-20, 2019
  • January 9-10, 2020
  • February 20-21, 2020
  • March 19-20, 2020
  • April 16-17, 2020
  • May 14-15, 2020
  • June 11-12, 2020

Board Heard a Presentation on the Status of the Nevada Ready Pre-K program

Presentation highlights: 

  • The Preschool Development Grant has served 8,055 children across 11 counties from 2016 to 2019. In 2018-2019, about 10% of those children served have disabilities. 
  • Out of the 89 preschool centers rated via the Quality Rating Improvement System, there were:
    • 5 one-star centers
    • 23 two-star centers
    • 13 three-star centers
    • 28 four-star centers
    • 20 five-star centers
  • 41 individuals received TEACH Nevada grants for their higher education studies in Early Childhood Education 
  • The Brigance Screening Assessment is being implemented in all early childhood centers. 

Click here to see the presentation.

Potential Future Agenda Items:

  • Discuss the Census 2020 Complete Count and its impact on the education system

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Nevada Ed-Watch 9/27/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Nevada Department of Education Commission on School Funding  

What is the Commission on School Funding and what are they responsible for? The Commission on School Funding is an appointed board created in compliance with Senate Bill 543 (2019) that oversees the development of Nevada’s new K-12 public school funding formula. The Commission is responsible for providing guidance to school districts and the Department of Education on the implementation of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan. The Commission must present their recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 2020. 

Click here to learn more and see current Commission Members. 

Can community members engage at Commission Meetings? Community members can sign up to speak at the Commission meetings. Members of the public can comment on agenda items during the first public comment period, and non-agenda items during the final public comment period. 

Friday, September 27, 2019
Commission on School Funding Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public provided testimony to the commission regarding:

  • The necessity of the commission to advance education funding in Nevada 
  • Appreciation for Commission members’ dedication to the Pupil-Centered Funding Formula
  • Ensuring that the commission’s processes remain transparent 

The Commission Committed to Four (4) Operating Rules of Engagement
Commission members committed to the following four Rules of Engagement for the operation of all Commission on School Funding meetings:

  1. Honor our time
  2. Respect the work
  3. Value each other
  4. Focus on improvement

Click here  to read more about the Rules of Engagement.

The Commission Heard an Overview of Open Meeting Law Responsibilities 

Highlighted Open Meeting Law responsibilities:

  • Any commission deliberation must occur transparently and in public. 
  • Technology can be used as a supplemental tool to convene a meeting, however there must still be a physical location for the public to participate in the meeting.
  • No more than five (5) members (quorum) may deliberate on a topic outside of an open meeting.

The Commision Elected Guy Hobbs as Vice-Chair 

Guy Hobbs was elected by commission members to serve as Vice-Chair of the Commission.  

The Commission Heard an Overview of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan

Nevada Department of Education staff presented an overview of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan, including the roles and responsibilities of the Commission, the department, and the Governor’s finance office (summarized below).

Responsibilities of the commission include:

  • Compare the original Nevada Plan to the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan
  • Project 2019-2021 funding distribution using the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan
  • Review 2019-2021 school district budgets that were prepared using the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan 
  • Make recommendations for needed changes to the Governor and Legislature 
  • Recommend revisions to the Nevada Department of Education, which could include:
    • Cost adjustment factors
    • Necessarily Small School Adjustment
    • Small District Equity Adjustment
    • “Average School” reports

Click here to see the presentation 

The immediate next steps for the commission include: 

  • Determine how to fulfill their mission within established timeframes
  • Identify information needed to facilitate the decision-making process
  • Propose recommendations to improve the implementation of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan
  • Propose statutory changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public education funding

The Commission Established Two (2) Work Groups 

Work groups were established to manage the workload and meet critical timelines of the commission. Work groups must be comprised of five (5) members each. Each group must include one (1) Chief Financial Officer of a district with 40,000 or fewer pupils, and one (1) Chief Financial Officer of a district with 40,000 or MORE pupils. 

Two (2) work groups have been identified based on the key responsibilities and deliverables outlined in Senate Bill  543.

Work Group 1: Formula and Distribution

This work group reviews base funding, the weights for categories of pupils, cost adjustment factors, and the distribution processes.

Members: 

  • Dr. David Jensen (Work Group Lead)
  • Mark Mathers
  • Guy Hobbs
  • Paul Johnson 
  • Punam Mather

Work Group 2: Reporting and Monitoring 

This work group identifies the evidence required to monitor the implementation of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP) and determines recommendations to address any deficiencies.
Members: 

  • Jim McIntosh (Work Group Lead)
  • Jason Goudy
  • A.J. Feuling 
  • Dr. Lisa Morris Hibbler 
  • Dusty Casey 

Click here to learn more about the structure of the work groups.

Requests for Future Agenda Items:

  • See a presentation on the basic definitions of SB 543 terms 
  • Hear insights from the Applied Analysis data team regarding the original inception of the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan

Click here to read about this meeting in the Nevada Independent.

Click here to read about this meeting in the Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Nevada Ed-Watch 2/14/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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, February 14, 2019

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Trustees Unanimously Approve the Consent Agenda

Consent Agenda Highlights:

  • Contract approval to demolish old Bishop Gorman campus on Maryland Parkway to allow for building of new facility for Global Community High School.
  • MOU between CCSD and Jewish Family Services Agency to implement a Foster Grandparent Program.
  • Approval of a $1.2 million settlement to three families. No further details are provided. Click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Trustees Adopt Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Assessment for Grades K-8 to be Administered Three (3) Times Per Year

Trustees voted to approve a contract to administer the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment for all students in Kindergarten through 8th Grade three times per year.

Teachers will receive professional development and training in test administration, data analysis, communicating with students about their progress.  

The MAP assessment will takes 1-2% of instructional time to implement (98% of instructional minutes are not spent on testing).

Trustees noted in the discussion that this assessment data will follow kids if they move schools, and expressed support following conversations with teachers and principals.

Policy Language Updates

Trustees accepted $1,000 for the Board’s annual Susan Brager Occupational Education Scholarship.

Minor updates were made to two policies (click to see the updated policy language):

Trustees vote 6-1 to approve an MOU with Clark County to Discuss the Shared Use of Outdoor Spaces on School Properties for Events

The MOU will allow CCSD to engage in discussion with the County to implement a small pilot program of 5 schools to test sharing outdoor spaces on school property for use by the County. CCSD acknowledges that use of these spaces must be unique to each school in order to address safety and other concerns, rather than implementing uniform rules for all school involved. Some schools already have facilities use agreements with the community, and the superintendent stated that this would be a formalization of that process.

The district has set aside $35,000 to support the pilot program. Funds are set aside to cover any potential damages, and to provide stipends to schools for employees to conduct paid duties such as lock/unlock gates and/or supervise activities.

There were a number of concerns addressed by Trustees, based on conversations with principals and other staff. Those concerns included:

  • Supervision
  • Scheduling
  • Liability
  • Damage
  • Trash
  • Maintenance/upkeep of land
  • Safety

Supt. Jara assured Trustees that each of these issues will be addressed on a school by school basis.

Five (5) Trustees voted to move forward under the conditions that principals are heavily involved in the process, and that Trustees remain informed about discussions and progress.

Public Comment:

  • Member of the public hopes that West Las Vegas will be included, stating that there are few fields and parks to access in the neighborhood.
  • Principal requested that the MOU not be signed in order to allow for more time to gather input from principals.

Click here to see the MOU.

Trustee Reports

Trustees voted unanimously on staff recommendations to reconstitute, including receivership, due to chronic low performance at two charter schools authorized by CCSD: 100 Academy of Excellence (Elementary School and Middle School) and The Delta Academy (Middle School and High School).

  • The Florence McClure women’s prison program has started. Click here to see a summary of the November 8th, 2018 Trustees meeting, when they heard a presentation about the program.
  • Harvard Doctoral Students in the Educational Leadership program students are studying magnet school diversity, improving recruitment and retention of students to magnet schools, the district reorganization, and Social Emotional Learning. They will provide Trustees with a report including the best research on these topics.
  • Strategic reallocation of Title I funding: Superintendent Jara provided an overview of the strategic decision to shift the Title I funding eligibility from 40% to 60% FRL. The superintendent stated that the historical 40% allocation diluted resources and limited opportunities to intensify resources where they are needed most. States across the country place the requirement at 75%. Trustee concerns were raised about changing the requirement, but the discussion was tabled because it was not an agenda item.
  • New regional superintendents introduced themselves. Click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Public Comment:

Members of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding:

  • Member of support staff thanked CCSD employees who helped resolve a previously raised concern, and Superintendent Jara for hearing from support staff and working on solutions to issues that impact them.
  • Parent expressed concerns about a child’s exposure to mace at school, resulting in an ER visit and $10,000 in medical bills. The parent alleged that the police report was falsified.
  • Concern about employees affected by the adjustment to Title I funding eligibility– from serving student populations of 40% poverty to 60% poverty.
  • Community member expressed the need for more African American representation on  committees that the Board of Trustees are appointed to.
  • Educator expressed support of increased per-pupil funding, hopes to see Trustees advocate for it at the legislature.
  • Concerns about the lack of diversity among the CCSD leadership team.
  • Educator requests Trustees lobby for changes to the Nevada star rating system to alter how school performance is measured.

Potential Future Items:

  • Discuss alignment between new regional superintendents and the district reorganization.

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