Tag: STAFFING

Nevada Ed-Watch: 10/11/22

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 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, October 11, 2022

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:

Item 2.06 – Possible Action for the Board of Trustees to use the office of the general counsel to represent WCSD Board of Trustees for open meeting law purposes, was pulled for discussion and approved on a separate vote.

Explore the consent agenda here.

Trustees Received a Presentation on the Use of Pinyon Public Strategies for Strategic Consultation and Government Relations Services

Trustees received a presentation on the use of Pinyon Public Strategies, which will provide strategic consultations and government relations services to WCSD for the 2023 legislative session, working closely with the Office of General Counsel to monitor potential legal impacts of proposed legislation. This contract will be in place of a full-time staff member.

Explore the agreement.

Trustees Approved a Bid to Demolish and Abate Various Buildings at Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education Academy High School

Trustees approved the award of Bid #23-09-B-08-DA for the demolition and abatement of various building at Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education Academy High School to Integrated Demolition and Remediation Inc. for $7.6 million.

Explore the bid tabulation and contract.

Trustees Approved Forensic Analytical Consulting Services for Project Management and Oversight for Site Demolition and Abatement of Various Buildings at the Debbie Smith Career and Technical Academy High School

Trustees approved Forensic Analytical Consulting Services to provide environmental health consulting services, project management, and project oversight during the demolition and abatement activities impacting asbestos-containing materials and lead-containing paints as part of Debbie Smith CTE Academy High School, for $197,710.

Explore the agreement.

Trustees Heard an Update on the Creation of the New Position of Associate Chief of Teaching and Learning, Specialized Instruction

After several months meeting with students, families, and staff members, the Superintendent recommended spitting the current role of one of the Area Superintendents (Area 5 & Special Education) into two separate positions: Area Superintendent (Area 5) and a new position, Associate Chief of Teaching and Learning, Specialized Instruction, to provide more personalized, dedicated service to students, families, and schools. The creation of this position will be funded in FY 2022-2023 General Fund contingency account, and through the General Fund in future years.

A more comprehensive set of recommendations will be given to the Board in December.

Explore the Superintendent’s Entry Plan and the presentation.

Student Representative’s Report

The Student Representative’s report highlights included:

  • The first Student Advisory meeting of the year, with recruitment underway for additional members

Trustee Reports

Trustee district highlights included:

  • Several school visits, as well as specialty programs for adult learners
  • Attending a conference relating to homelessness and children in transition
  • A district school earning an Edward Murrow Award for student reporting
  • Upcoming town halls with the superintendent and creating relationships with city officials and other community stakeholders
  • Attending the NIAA annual meeting
  • Attending meetings with teacher leaders

Superintendent’s Report

The Superintendent’s report highlights included:

  • 40+ community, staff, and student meetings convening in the Superintendent’s first three months
  • Diedrichsen Elementary School teacher Connie Hall being awarded the 2023 Nevada Teacher of the Year
  • Full transportation services returning to the district

Public Comment

Members of the public shared comments on this item regarding: 

  • Accountability with student achievement
  • Memberships in 501c6 advocacy organizations
  • Student data collection
  • Individual Education Programs
  • Special education staff shortages
  • School counselor caseloads
  • Educator and support staff shortages

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for October 25, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch 11/20/20

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 5 pm. While all meetings are typically held at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121, all meetings are now held virtually due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

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, November 19, 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, rather an oral summary of each comment was provided to Trustees.

  • Click here to view public comment on agenda items.
  • Click here to view public comment on non-agenda items.  

Trustees Honored Yvette Wintermute

Trustees paused for a moment of silence to honor Yvette Wintermute, who recently passed away. Yvette Wintermute served as Chief Nurse of Health Services for CCSD. 

Trustees Approved Consent Agenda 

Highlights: 

Trustees Approved Application for Impact Aid Section 7003

The US Department of Education provides Impact Aid 7003 funds to school districts in order to reimburse costs associated with educating federally-connected children. Federally connected children are: 

  • children of members of the uniformed services,
  • children who reside on Indian lands,
  • children who reside on federal property or federally subsidized low-rent housing, and
  • children whose parents work on federal property.

Property taxes are a main source of revenue for the school district. These funds reimburse the financial impact due to the presence of federally-connected children residing on, or whose parents are employed on, non-taxable federal property. 

As these funds would directly support CCSD students who reside on Indian Land, the board also held a public hearing on the review of the American Indian/Alaska Native Policies and Procedures for Federal Impact Aid 7003.  No public comment was submitted. 

Click here to view the reference material. 

Click here to view the American Indian/Alaska Native Policies and Procedures.

Trustees Approved Notice of Intent for District Policy

CCSD Policy 6161, School Libraries currently states, “The Clark County School District recognizes that an effective library is an important and integral part of the educational program in each school, and the Clark County School District will provide adequate school libraries.”

The updated policy includes language that will ensure schools have a licensed teacher-librarian. Since licensed teacher-librarians are funded through school strategic budgets, some trustees had concerns about requiring schools to provide licensed teacher-librarians. 

 This policy will come back before the Board for final approval on December 10. 

Click here to see the draft policy.  

Trustees Approved Notice of Intent for District Regulation 

Regulation 3241, Acceptance of Gifts, outlines the acceptable use of monetary or in-kind gifts to the district or schools. The updated  language includes a clarification that gifts must be used for their specified purpose to the extent possible.

The Trustees will revisit the regulation for approval during the December 10 meeting.

Click here to see the draft regulation. 

Superintendent’s Report 

Superintendent Jara and CCSD Chief Financial Officer, Jason Goudie, provided information to Trustees about the staffing and fiscal impact of continuing distance learning through the end of the school year. Several positions of employment are connected to the physical presence of students at school buildings and are deemed redundant if students continue with distance learning through the rest of the year. Recommendations for staffing changes if CCSD continues with distance learning through the end of the school year include:

  • Facilities Management: Surplus half of custodial staff, approximately 700 positions. 
  • Transportation: Surplus all General Fund 100 support professionals. Suspend driver hiring and training and return underutilized and vacant full-time equivalent (FTE) and funds, which includes approximately 650 employees.
  • Police: Reduce the number of police positions, which includes approximately 30 police positions.

Click here to view additional information. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch: 2/15/19

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.

State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA)

What is the SPCSA & what are they responsible for? The SPCSA sponsors and oversees public charter schools across the State of Nevada. The Authority consists of seven appointed members responsible for overseeing educational and operational standards, and holding sponsored schools accountable to the academic achievement of students.

How often does the SPCSA Board meet? SPCSA members meet once monthly (three times in June)– on Fridays.

Click here for SPCSA meeting schedule and materials.

Can community members engage at SPCSA Board Meetings? All meetings are held publicly at the Nevada Department of Education building in Carson City and the Nevada Department of Education building in Las Vegas (2nd floor boardroom). Members of the public are invited to attend at either location. 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 SPCSA Members.

Click here for a list of all SPCSA sponsored schools.

Friday, February 15, 2019
State Public Charter School Authority – Board Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

The Board Heard Staff Reports From Each Team (Authorizing, School Support, Finance & Operations & Legal)

The Authorizing Team provided the following updates to the Board:

  • Site Evaluations:
    • Staff has participated in 15 hours of training for conducting site evaluations and conducted 5 site evaluations to date (on schedule to complete half of portfolio school site visits by the end of the semester).
    • It was noted that during focus groups, families at every school that received a visit report being happy with the decision they made to enroll their student in that school. Strong school culture at each school was also recognized.
    • A common opportunity for growth identified was around increasing instructional rigor.
  • School Applications:
    • The team is following up with schools that submitted a Letter of Intent to launch, but didn’t apply for authorization.
    • Reflections shared with schools that provided feedback were around schools needing to establish internal deadlines and requesting training on topics like Human Resources best practices, student recruitment, and funding.
  • Academic & Organizational Performance Frameworks:
    • The team held three 90-minute listening sessions with about 18 individuals to collect stakeholder input regarding SPCSA Performance Frameworks (both Academic and Organizational). Here’s what they heard:
      • A strong preference not to make the Academic Framework complicated, and not to duplicate the Nevada framework (NSPF)– rather, to look for complementary measures of performance.
      • A need to find a way to measure progress of students year-over-year.
      • Ensuring Organizational Framework standards are clear, simple, and avoid duplication from other components of the Frameworks.
    • Staff stated that the listening sessions are the first of many conversations. The Authorizing Team acknowledges that input from school leaders are necessary and welcomed. Next step is for attendees to participate in working groups (at least monthly) to continue developing the Academic and Organizational Frameworks.
    • Goal is for the framework to be updated and presented to the Board in June.
  • Focus on Schools updates
    • The team wants schools to share best practices with each other more regularly, and would like to hear from at least 6 schools in 2019 about what’s working. They also want to hear best practices across school types, like traditional district schools and other charters not sponsored by the SPCSA.
    • The team also wants to hear specifically from schools that have shown significant improvement, but are not ranked as 4- and 5- stars. The team talked about working with the press, the Charter School Authority of Nevada (CSAN), and other entities like Teach For America.

The School Support Team provided the following updates:

  • Provided training to school staff about how to validate graduation rates.
  • Attended school support site visits, trianings, and conferences about student engagement, Title I, and special education.
  • Engaging in ongoing communications with schools to provide technical supports around addressing parent concerns and providing guidance on state reporting.

The Finance and Operations Team provided the following updates:

  • Staffing– a new administrative assistant was hired.

The Legal Team provided the following updates:

  • Due Process Complaints– continuing to monitor issues with individual schools related to special education.
  • Executive Director Recruitment
    • Interviews will be conducted on March 8th with the 6 finalists. Then, the Board will select 3 candidates to be sent to the Governor for final selection.
    • Working with HR team to do reference checks and organize the interview process and questions.

Click here to see a summary of team updates from the previous board meeting and the 6 finalists (1/18/19).

Updates on Legislative Session and Status of Assembly Bill 78 Language

Staff provided an update regarding the 2019 Legislative Session and Assembly Bill 78. Staff stated that SPCSA staff is in close contact with Gov. Sisolak’s team and with education committee leadership.  

  • Legislative Updates:
    • AB78 – The SPCSA and Nevada Department of Education bill has undergone major revisions and now includes 5 major themes:
      • Ensuring that schools are serving all students, including special education and homeless students
      • Accountability of authorizers in ensuring that all annual reporting requirements are being met. This already exists in regulation, but they would like to specifically include in statute.
      • Giving SPCSA regulatory authority. Currently, the SPCSA does not have the authority to adopt its own regulations.
      • Clarifying that the SPCSA is the Local Education Agency (LEA) for their schools that are not currently designated as an LEA themselves.
      • Consolidating and combining the SPCSA and ASD, specifically in an effort to increase equitable access to high quality charter schools for all students.
  • Note: ultimately, all of these changes are up to the legislature to approve and are not final unless the bill passes.
  • Going forward, legislative updates will be provided to the Board in a written summary format. The team will work on a process to provide the Board with periodic updates between board meetings.

Board Hears Updates About the Beacon Academy of Nevada

SPCSA staff provided the Board with information regarding Beacon Academy’s performance under the Alternative Performance Framework.

Beacon Academy only serves high-need students, including students who are credit deficient, adjudicated, on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), or have been habitually disciplined.

Click here to see the Beacon Academy 2017-2018 Report Card.

Click here to see the presentation.
Click here to read about Beacon Academy in the Nevada Independent.

Board Hears Quarterly Update From Discovery Charter School

The Discovery staff, their receiver, and their principal shared updates on the topics below on the second year of receivership:

  • Student enrollment and population
  • Lottery
  • Performance

The team is currently engaging in a process to identify a permanent operator for the school. They are also currently performing a feasibility study to assess the potential of adding 9th grade.

Board Heard Updates About the Closing of Nevada Virtual Academy

School staff met with families and provided a closure timeline, including a communications plan. They also provided an overview of progress of non-elementary grades.

Click here to see the presentation.

Board Heard Updates on Responses to the Interim Finance Committee

Staff provided the Board updates about responses due to the Interim Finance Committee (IFC) on February 1, 2019. SPCSA understands that there is one more report due to IFC regarding these questions before August 1st. Staff will bring the report before the Board in a draft form for input prior to submission.

Click here to see the Legislative Letter of Intent.

Public Comment

  • One local charter school leader talked about a positive experience during their site evaluation by the SPCSA. The school leader cited that the evaluators spent a significant amount of time in the classroom, debriefing with administrators, and facilitating focus groups with parents.
  • Announcement that February 27-28th is Public Charter School Days at the Capitol, which includes presentations and a policy dinner and reception with lawmakers.

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