Douglas County School suspends bylaws against pleas of teachers and parents

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - In a marathon meeting that went to the legally mandated end time of 11:59 p.m., the Douglas County School Board trustees on Tuesday voted to suspend a series of bylaws that covered everything from superintendent duties to public comment, communication, and agendas.

The trustees made it through less than half of its 34-item agenda during the eight-hour meeting, and as has been the norm in 2023, it was a contentious meeting with a majority of the public speaking during the meeting clearly on the other side of the board.

The meeting started off with Trustee Linda Gilkerson questioning the agenda, one prepared by Board President Susan Jansen, the District's attorney Joey Gilbert, and Trustee David Burns. The bylaws at the time of the meeting said Superintendent Keith Lewis should prepare the agenda with Jansen, which did not happen. Jansen, Burns, and Gilbert read off of a prepared sheet at the agenda meeting, and Lewis said he didn't have it.

The rest of the meeting went the same way, with Gilkerson and Trustee Carey Kangas normally in the minority against Jansen, Burns, and trustees Katherine Dickerson, Doug Englekirk, and Tony Magnotta.

What the trustees did get done from the agenda was to suspend bylaws, an agenda item presented by Gilbert and a staff member from his firm, Kiera Sears.

Numerous comments about attorney Joey Gilbert's list of bylaws for suspension asked, "Why fix something that isn't broken?" The lengthy public comments clearly showed the majority of the audience, full of teachers and students, along with the public, were in favor of tabling the bylaw changes until fully understood, supporting Lewis, and reminding the board of its mission.

There was concern that the board leadership was trying to move the bylaw topic too quickly through the process without everyone understanding its consequences.

Gilbert and Sears said there should be no worry by the two trustees who were against the bylaw suspension, Gilkerson and Kangas, as they have 30 days until the next board meeting to review before they become final.

At 11:40 p.m., the Board voted 5-1 (Gilkerson had walked away from the vote, knowing the outcome) to suspend provisions bylaws 050, 060, 070, and 815.

Nevada Statute 386 outlines the minimum requirements of the administration of a school district. Douglas County, over the years, had added to the statute to address needs that had come up to best work in the county. The current board voted to go back to bare minimums, rescinding all adoptions, amendments, and revisions made through the yes, especially the last board administration.

The suspension should only suspend them, and nothing new can be added until voted on and approved by a majority of the board.

The bylaw change removes the required bi-annual board development workshop. The Nevada Statute requires professional development for trustees during the first year and third year of their terms. The training must cover, at a minimum, laws relating to public records, including, without limitation, the Open Meeting Law, local government employee-management relations, the system of K-12 public education in this State, local government ethics, the fiduciary duties of a member of the board of trustees of a school district, as well as laws and contracts.

Joey Gilbert Contract

The public and some board trustees said they were concerned that Gilbert's bill in his first month was over $35,000.

His invoice was under scrutiny, with Trustee Gilkerson questioning that his contract was invalid, so the invoice was invalid. She said the contract had to be approved by the Superintendent or CFO, and neither one of their signatures was on it.

"It is not worth the paper it's written on, not a valid contract," said Gilkerson. She said her personal lawyer advised her that the Gilbert contract was not valid.

Gilbert said he created a new contract since the whole board approved it due to "numerous clerical errors." That contract was signed by Jansen and Burns, but not Lewis. Gilbert and Sears said that Lewis was emailed the contract, and even though he didn't sign it, her received it and didn't voice an objection, so that is "approved."

Lewis, who was quiet for most of the discussions, responded to this claim: “I did object, Keira, and nothing has been done about it.”

Lewis did not state specifically what he objected to, but it was brought up that Gilbert intentionally changed in the contract that he would be reporting directly to the board, and not to the superintendent as both his predecessors and the majority of other school board councils do.

"The board did not authorize it," Trustee Kangas said of the contract. "Almost sounds like you're charging us to train yourselves."

Sears charged the district thousands of dollars in researching Open Meeting Law (OML), which according to Gilkerson, should never have been necessary.

“Shouldn’t they know that?” Gilkerson asked.

Sears said Gilbert asked her to research the OML statutes due to complaints that have come in against the board.

Sears is not licensed to practice law in the state of Nevada according to the Nevada State Bar, and is not listed as a member of his law practice's legal team. Kangas questioned why she is being paid $325 an hour - her name appears on most of the invoices sent to the District from Gilbert.

"The public deserves to know what their money is being spent on," said Kangas. He said the contract has been significantly changed with specific language on compensation removed. He wants the whole board to be able to vote on the changed contract, not just the board president and clerk.

"It's gone awry and I'm mopping up the mess," said Gilbert for the lengthy agenda and numerous topics, and resulting high invoice for his firm and Sears. He billed the District to create his contract and the agenda, something normally done by the Superintendent and the Board President.