8/23/22 Regular Meeting of the WCSD Board of Trustees
Consent Agenda
There were 21 consent agenda items. All Consent agenda items were passed unanimously. Only Consent Agenda Item 2.13 was pulled for discussion. Item 2.13 was a purchase agreement for $3.7 million for 10,000 laptops.
Consent Agenda Items with WCSD spending:
2.04 $904K for telephone systems support & licensing
2.05 $143K for signage for 17 schools
2.06 $152K for irrigation replacement at Dilworth MS
2.07 $155K for new scoreboard at Spanish Springs HS
2.08 $205K for irrigation repair no site listed
2.09 $224K for can liners for 1 year
2.10 $208K for landscape & irrigation for Sarah Winnemucca ES
2.13 $3.7 Million for 10,000 laptops
Total WCSD spending: almost $6 Million in consent agenda items.
2.13 Public Comment:
John Eppolito, who is with Protect Nevada Children, stated that the school district recently acknowledged that Elementary School students used school issued devices to access pornography. He also stated that the district said this problem was corrected.
But the district has not said whether the parents of the elementary students who were watching the Porn Hub videos were notified. Also, the district won’t say whether students can still access explicit pornographic materials via Google Search. Mr. Eppolito stated that 2 WCSD parents had contacted Protect Nevada Children with this information.
Legislation Agenda Item:
3.01 Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 218D.205, for the 2023 Nevada Legislative Session
The new Deputy Superintendent Dr. Seng-Dao Yang Keo presented a Bill Draft Request (BDR) proposal for WCSD to submit to the Nevada Legislative Session in 2023. According to NRS 218D.205 WCSD Board of Trustees can only submit 1 BDR while Clark can submit 2, due to student population.
The proposal is to draft a BDR that modernizes educational statutes. The intent is to make sure educational funds are used strategically on what works to improve student and school outcomes. Improving effectiveness and efficiency across the system.
The core feature of the BDR is to create a commission of experts, district leaders, state leaders and critical stakeholders to study educational statutes, regulations and policies and to provide recommendations and areas for prioritization. This is a medium to long term plan, 2 years to complete but will have impact for decades. The commission would need 6-8 months to come up with a plan. They would begin after the 2023 Session in June.
Core Tenants of the BDR:
Innovation both academically and socially and emotionally
System level coherence and alignment to maximize effectiveness and efficiency which allows us to build capacity and pipelines over multiple generations. (BBME is not sure what exactly all those words mean)
Evidence based interventions and outcomes using evidence based data and research to drive decisions (BBME is not sure how else one would make decisions)
Reducing burden and streamlining work across the district. Fixing statutes that do not speak or correlate with one another. Addressing repetitive work for teachers so that they can focus on students and Social and Emotional (SEL) outcomes.
This proposed BDR is a long term strategic plan, 10-20 years.
Presentation, Discussion and Action Items:
5.04 Coral Academy of Science Charter School, Additional Campus
WCSD has reached an agreement with Coral Academy of Science Charter School (CAS) to open a new elementary school in NW Reno at 1595 Sky Mountain Drive. The new campus is slated to open for the 2023-2024 school year.
Additional Information for Public Review and Comment:
There are currently five Board Policies open for Public Review and Comment. These range from homework to transportation, and we encourage you to review them and submit helpful and constructive comments/feedback to Policy@washoeschools.net. Comments for Board Policies below close at 5:00pm on September 9, 2022.
There are currently two Administrative Policies open for Public Review and Comment. We encourage you to review them and submit helpful and constructive comments/feedback to Policy@washoeschools.net. Comments for these Administrative Policies close at 5:00pm on September 2, 2022.