DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. – There will be a change on the Douglas County School District (DCSD) Board in the new year, with the election bringing on three new faces and possibly switching the board majority from the past two years.

For their last meeting of 2024 on December 11 at 4 p.m., the DCSD Board will hear a presentation on Nevada Public Records Requests given by a member of the Attorney General of Nevada’s office to inform the board and the public about Public Records Requests guidelines and rules. This was originally scheduled last month but the Attorney General’s office could not attend.

There will be several agreements and memos of understanding (MOUs) voted on during the meeting, including MOUS with Western Nevada College, and Lyon County and Carson City Schools. One of the agreements will be between Douglas County and Douglas County School District regarding Parking at the Lake Schools 2024-2025. There will also be a check presented for the school district’s share of collected funds this past year.

During their November meeting, the board was slated to discuss and possibly vote on creating an in-house counsel position instead of having an outside person/firm. It became a discussion only due to a possible Open Meeting Law violation. Superintendent Freddy Alvarado said the good side of having in-house counsel would be no surprise fees and a set budget annually, though the bad side would be the need to hire outside should a conflict of interest come forward.

In January 2025, when the new board is sworn in, agenda items scheduled will include the termination of the contract with legal counsel Joey Gilbert, an evaluation of all bylaw changes in the last two years, a return to a three-minute public comment period from the current 90 seconds, and possible replacement for Gilbert.

David Burns, Katherine Dickerson, and Susan Jansen remain on the board along with Yvonne Wagstaff. Both Linda Gilkerson and Carey Kangas are retiring from the board after being active members of the school district family for decades. In their places will be Melinda Gneiting and Marcus Zinke. Doug Englekirk will not be returning as he lost the November election to Erinn Miller.

For the December 10 agenda and instructions on participation, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1502.