Running head: ARTIFACT #1 1

Artifact #1; Clark County School Board Meeting 05/28/15

Courtney Lichtenwalner
College of Southern Nevada
ARTIFACT #1 2

Artifact #1; Clark County School Board Meeting 05/28/15

The meeting of the Clark County School Board occurring on May 28, 2015 begins with a

roll call of the members. Chris Garvey, Vice President, Deanna L. Wright, Clerk, Kevin L. Child,

Member, Erin Cranor, Member, Carolyn Edwards, Member, Patrice Tew, Member, and Pat

Skorkowsky, Superintendent of Schools, are all in attendance for this meeting. The only member

absent from this session is President, Linda E. Young. Being that this recount of the May 28,

2015 meeting is taken from the minutes, following the flag salute from the Las Vegas High

School ROTC Color Guard and the Invocation led by Pastor Jason Adams of Reformation

Lutheran Church it is noted that Trustee Edwards left her seat three minutes into the meeting.

The agenda is then given for approval and voted upon unanimously without Trustee Edwards

vote. This leads into student body presidents from three local high schools around the Las Vegas

Valley present an overview of their objectives and subsequent goals for their high schools.

Following this, it is noted that Trustee Edwards returns to her post. The meeting continues,

addressing the successes and scholarships of some Clark County students, as well as some

administrators. The meeting then recesses at 5:13pm and reconvenes at 5:45pm.

Upon reconvening, the floor is opened up for a public speaking session. The first issue

that is brought to the attention of the board is regarding a violation of a Clark County School

District (CCSD) policy concerning a senior prank. However, the next issue, which pertains to a

currently relevant issue, is speaking about transgendered individuals. A speaker by the name of

Denise Byard brings up the need for a Clark County School District-Wide policy relating to

transgendered individuals. Following Denise Byard, a student by the name of, Colton Byard

steps up to explain that he would appreciate if he were given the chance to be like any other

student attending a Clark County school. He inquires about a policy being created to assist the

CCSD staff to learn about transgendered individuals. Three more people, including another
ARTIFACT #1 3

student, follow Byard with similar requests. One woman, Laura Hernandez, states that her child

was actually harmed due to a lack of policy regarding transgender individuals. However, not

everyone in attendance chose to spoke on behalf of the transgender students. Linda Peterson,

another woman choosing to participate in the meeting, spoke on behalf of the students who are

not transgender. She appears to be a teacher, stating that some of her students have addressed

their discomfort with the possible restroom and locker room accommodations for transgender

students. While both transgender students and non-transgender students need to be taken into

account when making this decision, due to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment stating, no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction equal protection

of the laws, including school districts, and it requires that similarly situated individuals be treated

the same, (McCabe, McCarthy, & Eckes. 2014. p. 119) a policy should be created to keep these

students safe and to treat them equal.

This meeting continues with the Board approving the adoption of the consent agenda.

They continue, discussing nine different budget related matters before moving onto an issue

pertaining to teachers. Both items are classified as confidential, however, it does to pertain to

another relevant issue concerning teaching licenses. Per the meeting minutes, there is

conversation about possible action on approval to notify probationary year-round licensed

employees of the nonrenewal of their contracts. The next line is in regards to the dismissal of

licensed personnel. There appears to have been discussion and a resolution to approve the

Superintendents recommendation for dismissal of licensed personnel. Both of these agenda line

items list the focus areas as being: proficiency, academic growth, and achievement gaps.

Unfortunately, no other information pertaining to these two issues are listed in the minutes.
Continuing on, student expulsions are another confidential matter briefly discussed

before the Board returns to budget issues. Seven more issues about budget are convened upon,
ARTIFACT #1 4

before the trustees vote on four topics of interest. The trustees then approve an amendment to a

current CCSD regulation regarding Student Wellness and hear two different speakers concerning

this matter. Following the speakers, the Board discusses adopting an earlier start to the school

year for the next few years. Trustee Tew gives the motion, but Trustee Edwards ends up

requesting a continuation on the matter and the date of the motion is moved to December 31,

2015.
At this point, the Board moves back onto a relevant issue regarding the hiring of new

teachers. The Teach.Vegas Campaign is presented and the discussion of the budget begins in

regards to the advertising and recruitment funds. This campaign is fairly large throughout Las

Vegas due to the shortage of teachers in Clark County. In attendance to offer and update on the

efforts of the Teach.Vegas Campaign is Staci Vesnecke, Chief Human Resources Officer, Tya

Mathis, Director 1, Recruitment Diversity and High-Need Area, Human Resources, and Meg

Nigro, Executive Director, Recruitment and Development, Human Resources. The discussion of

this issue goes over the cost, as well as the number of people retiring or resigning from the

District, different recruiting methods, standards of quality, Alternative Routes to Licensure,

retirees also returning to teach, substitute teachers with the ability to become licensed teachers,

and even offering part-time teaching positions.

The last issue discussed returns to the budget and a vote on that matter. The Board then

discusses legislation, with Superintendent Skorkowsky reporting. Last, the Superintendent

adjusts the work session agenda regarding scheduling conflicts. Before discussion the Board

reports, which consists of more awards, the agenda planning is set, with Trustee Edwards

requesting that an update come to the Board regarding a transgender policy. At the close of the

meeting, the transgender topic is brought up again in another public speaking period. Two more

parents of students in the Clark County School District choose to speak, but they oppose the
ARTIFACT #1 5

prospect of having co-ed bathrooms. This topic will no doubt be examined further in future

meetings. With the completion of the open floor for the public to speak, the meeting adjourns at

9:11pm.
Overall, this particular CCSD meeting did not discuss as many topics relating to Nevada

Law as another meeting might have. However, in the changing world, knowing that the subject

of Equal Protection is still such a hot topic can be disheartening. It is with hope that a future

meeting, will be able to come to a positive conclusion to all students involved that may be

struggling to fit in while at school.

ARTIFACT #1 6

References

McCabe,N.,McCarthy,M.,&Eckes,S.(2014).Teachers'SubstantiveConstitutionalRights.In
LegalRightsofTeachersandStudents(2nded.,p.119).Boston:PearsonEducation.