Clark County School Board growing from 7 to 11 members

Greg Haas
·3 min read
3

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Four new non-voting members on the Clark County school board will take the oath of office during a special meeting scheduled tonight — 5:30 p.m., Jan. 2, 2024.

And, for now, a big question about the whole process remains unanswered.

The Clark County School District Board of Trustees will grow from seven members to 11 in accordance with Assembly Bill 175 (AB175), passed in 2023 by the Nevada Legislature.

North Las Vegas initially selected Councilman Isaac Barron to serve on the board, raising a red flag from the school district, which pointed to CCSD policy barring employees from serving on the board. Barron is a teacher at Rancho High School.

AB175 contained no such restriction on who could be a non-voting board member.

Avoiding a larger conflict, North Las Vegas voted last week to name a teachers union representative, Dane Watson, to a six-month stint on the board. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Barron plans to retire at the end of the school year, and will serve the remainder of the four-year term.

The four non-voting members set to take office tonight are:

  • City of Henderson appointee Ramona Esparza-Stoffregan

  • City of Las Vegas appointee Adam Johnson

  • Clark County appointee Lisa Satory

  • City of North Las Vegas appointee Dane Watson

Watson is a former teacher who worked in CCSD for 30 years, now working for the Clark County Education Association. Esparza-Stoffregan is a former teacher and Valley High School principal. Johnson is a former charter school principal and Satory is a current charter school principal.

Watson talked about his qualifications in an interview with 8 News Now’s Joshua Peguero on Politics Now:

AB175 changes the face of the board, but it remains to be seen how it will impact the board’s behavior. It’s been a source of embarrassment over past years with public squabbles that drew the attention of lawmakers, who even considered legislation that would have broken the district into smaller pieces.

Conflicts involving CCSD and the Legislature continue, with the Democratic leaders continuing to target Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara.

Several teachers ran for positions in the Legislature and won in 2022, and lawmakers were vocal about the board’s leadership as they passed AB175.

“We can’t just keep doing what we’re doing,” Democratic Assemblywoman Bilbray-Axelrod said. She was one of the bill’s sponsors, along with Republican Toby Yurek. “Is this perfect? Probably not.”

“At least we’re moving the needle,” she said.

A late addition to the picture, Watson comes with an emphasis on teacher recruitment and retention — especially in North Las Vegas, where he said job vacancies are high.

He said the four non-voting members each bring new skill sets to the board.

“I think we all have expertise, especially since we’ve been in the field of education for a number of years … we come with experiences and advantages to sharing, to help, and to serve. And I think that’s the main piece, because this is about serving the community,” Watson said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.