Nevada Ed-Watch: CCSD 12/14/23

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 both virtually and at the Edward A. Greer Education Center Board Room (2832 E Flamingo Rd, 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. 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, via email, or via voice recording. Email comments should be submitted to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, December 14

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.

Watch the meeting playback on YouTube.

What happened at this meeting?

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda (7-0)

Consent Agenda Highlights:

• Approval of the Special Education Staff Retention and Recruitment Grant application
• Approval of dual enrollment credit courses aligned to the Nevada System of Higher Education
• Unified and licensed personnel employment
• Class size reduction plan
• Memorandum of Agreement with iteachU.S. regarding teacher licensure
• Several facilities items

Explore consent agenda items here.

Trustees Discussed the American Rescue Plan Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ARP ESSER III) Annual Use of Funds Report

Highlights of the ARP ESSER III Use of Funds Report include:

• 83.78% of the total $777,849,496 of ESSER III funds have been spent, as of Oct. 1, aligning with the initiatives of the strategic plan.
• Main investment points include:
  • Technology upgrades
  • Tier 1 instructional materials for ELA, science, and mathematics
  • Mental health and crisis response resources
  • Teachers, principals, and staff recruitment and retention
  • Covid-19 mitigation
  • Parent and community support projects
  • CCSD data dashboard, balanced governance and leadership projects
• It is unknown whether or not ESSER funds will be available in the future.

Explore the presentation and the report.

Trustees Heard an Update on Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan – Career and Technical Education, International Baccalaureate, and Magnet Schools

Highlights of the presentation include:

CTE:

• The goal for total enrollment in high-skill, high-demand programs of study was 83,274. The actual enrollment was 66,888.
  • Within sub-groups:
    • The goals for enrollment by female students in Level 2 and Level 3 CTE was exceeded.
    • The goals for enrollment by male students in Level 2 and Level 3 CTE was also exceeded.
• Referring to programs as “career pathways” instead of “electives” has increased interest and enrollment.
• Programs are also phasing from three-year to two-year pathways.
• CTE program completion rates are at around 70%, with efforts being made to get to 100%.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE:

• The overall goal for IB diploma award earners was 73% and the actual was 42%.
• There is a need for more awareness around the IB program.

MAGNET SCHOOLS:

• The goal for Kindergarten enrollment in magnet schools was exceeded.

Explore the presentation in English and the presentation in Spanish.

Trustees Heard an Update on Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan – Student Discipline

Key points and themes of the update include:

• All data shown is incomplete for the year, and the update showcases results for Q1.
• There has been a 17% decrease in student suspensions this year.
• Discretionary expulsion has decreased by 22% and is below the 2019 rates.

Explore the presentation in English and the presentation in Spanish.

Trustees Approved the 2023-24 Amended Final Budget (7-0)

Highlights of the budget presentation include:

• Enrollment has declined year-over-year. This year there were 792 fewer students than budgeted.
• Total per-pupil revenue has increased greatly. It is now the largest increase the state has seen in decades, to $11,550 per pupil. However, gaps still exist between these funding levels and the national average and need.
• The majority of funding comes from the State Education Fund (93.4%), with 6.6% coming from other funds such as special education funding as well as interest income and other sources.
• State General Education funding is forecasted to increase by $87.4M to a projected balance of $3.15 billion, and Special Education funding is expected to increase by $4.9M to $149.9M.
• 82% of budget is spent on salaries and benefits and 18% on “Other”, including supplies and utilities, which have become more expensive.
  • CCEA, POA and PAA contracts are still pending resolution, so budget effect is unknown.

Explore the budget and updates, budget presentation in English, and budget presentation in Spanish.

Trustees Approved a Notice of Intent for CCSD Regulation 3432 (7-0)

Trustees approved a Notice of Intent to amend CCSD Regulation 3432, relating to district liability claim resolution. Changes include:

• CCSD is looking to increase authority levels to help with processing efficiency.
• Additional language and specifics of the process have been added.

Possible action on the Notice of Intent will be submitted for a public meeting and Board of Trustees approval on January 11, 2024.

Review the Notice of Intent.

Trustees Approved a Notice of Intent for CCSD Regulation 3432.1 (7-0)

Trustees approved a Notice of Intent to amend CCSD Regulation 3432.1, relating to district workers’ compensation claim resolution. Changes include:

• CCSD is looking to increase authority limits to meet settlements in a timely manner.

Possible action on the Notice of Intent will be submitted for a public meeting and Board of Trustees approval on January 11, 2024.

Review the Notice of Intent.

Trustees Approved a Notice of Intent for CCSD Regulation 3213 (7-0)

Trustees approved a Notice of Intent to amend CCSD Regulation 3432.1, relating to buildings and sites funds. Changes include:

• CCSD is looking to update the language, since the last update was in 2004. It provides more clarity around the actual processes currently utilized.

Possible action on the Notice of Intent will be submitted for a public meeting and Board of Trustees approval on January 11, 2024.

Review the Notice of Intent.

Trustees Approved a Notice of Intent for CCSD Governance Policy GP-9: Meeting Planning (7-0)

Trustees approved a Notice of Intent to amend CCSD Governance Policy GP-9, relating to meeting planning. Changes include:

• CCSD is looking to specify the rights of voting members in preparation for having four non-voting board members join in January.

Possible action on the Notice of Intent will be submitted for a public meeting and Board of Trustees approval on January 11, 2024.

Review the Notice of Intent.

Trustees Held a Public Hearing on and Approved a Data Sharing Agreement between CCSD and the State of Nevada (7-0)

A public hearing was held on a data sharing agreement between CCSD and the State of Nevada, in order to fulfill provisions of Assembly Bill 517 (2023), which requires periodic audits of CCSD’s operations.

Review the Agreement.

Public Comment

Members of the public shared comments regarding:

• Student discipline
• Teacher recruitment and shortages
• Student proficiency
• Opposition to book banning
• Regulation 5138
• Support of book bans
• School violence
• LGBTQ+ youth needs

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for January 11, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.