Surprise Douglas School Board vote - Superintendent Lewis stays on the job

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - In a very surprising turn of events during Friday's special Douglas County School District (DCSD) trustee board meeting, a motion to accept Superintendent Keith Lewis's resignation failed by a vote of 3-4.

Trustee Doug Englekirk from the Tahoe Township, who is the board vice-president, broke away from the three newer board members Susan Jansen, David Burns, and Kathrine Dickerson, and voted on the side of the more seasoned board members, Linda Gilkerson, Carey Kangas, and Tony Magnotta.

The long and, as is the norm lately, contentious, meeting heard from about 95 people giving their support to Lewis, with about nine calling for his resignation. Parents, students, and teachers lined up to give Lewis praises and pleaded with the board to not accept his resignation agreement.

Thomas Beko, Lewis's personal attorney, spoke for the superintendent who was not present during the proceedings. Beko gave the public an overview of how they got to this point.

Beko said the process to sever Lewis from DCSO began with an inquiry by Joey Gilbert following a previous contentious district meeting. Gilbert asked Lewis if he could effectively manage the district with a fractured board, according to Beko. Gilbert told the superintendent he couldn't manage the board, and to get the "district back on course" he should terminate his employment agreement.

Beko was brought in to work out a deal that would give Lewis severance payments including salary and benefits for 12 months after a required 90-day notice, permitting the district to terminate him. The lawyer said Lewis would vigorously challenge termination if the District tried to do so with cause, but that he'd accept it without just cause.

Dozens of signs lined the meeting room and highway, giving their support to Lewis.

"Mr. Lewis has been listening," said Beko after talking to the superintendent during the meeting break. "He is very thankful and deeply humbled by the support."

After hours of public comment, the board called for a vote to accept the deal made between Beko and Gilbert, but it failed by a 3-4 vote.

Neither side wanted to put the District through costly litigation and Lewis was ready to leave so as to not cause any more disfunction at the District.

"Lewis is the heart and soul of this school district," said Kangas. "What is happening is an abomination. Gilbert and the board should be ashamed of themselves."

As has been the case for much of 2023, Kangas, Gilkerson, and Magnotta have been on one side of issues with the other four on the opposite end.

Over 425 people were watching the meeting on Zoom, with over 100 onsite at Douglas High School. Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office were on hand as they were during the last meeting when some members of the public were removed for being too vocal.

"We have deputies that will remove you if you disrupt," said Burns.

Dickerson said she wanted to try and bring down the temperature and she "didn't want to see Douglas go down in flames." She said she didn't understand why there was so much negativity from the crowd.

"I don't understand what we've done," said Dickerson.

The firing of the longtime legal counsel of the District, the hiring of Joey Gilbert, the removal of bylaws that hampered Lewis from doing his job, and other moves that many thought were to a predetermined agenda brought the issues to a head Friday.

"I am appalled at what this board is doing," said a former DCSD trustee and teacher during public comment. "Removing this talented superintendent - you are to serve our community, not to indoctrinate with your opinion. You have destroyed this district in a very short period of time."

A few parents told the board how they moved to Douglas County after they researched the schools, and they were questioning their decisions.

"I never found one negative thing about Lewis," said one of those parents who relocated, Ginger Nicolay-Davis. "The community loves and supports him. Our community deserves an explanation for what you're doing, this is a witchhunt. You are supposed to represent us - parents, teachers, and students beg you to vote differently. Our children deserve better than you."

After hours of comments and a dinner break, the vote was held. Since the first agenda item failed, the second became a moot point. It was to possibly vote on the appointment of an acting superintendent at the meeting. There had been rumors that Gilbert's campaign manager for his bid to be governor in 2022, Paul White, was going to be named superintendent, but that has not been verified.

Several people asked that the board learn how to work together, and put differences aside for the good of the children and teachers, though some did call for the resignation of the Jansen, Burns, Dickerson, and Englekirk.

Gilkerson said as a board they are now back to where they were before.

"I want for us to be able to work together for what is best for kids," said Gilkerson. "Something has to change - we have to let Mr. Lewis do his job. We are supposed to fly at 30,000 feet and stay in our lane."

She also asked that Gilbert step back and stay in his advisor role. He had spoken a few times during the board comments and was often seen speaking off-mic with Jansen.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, October 10 at Whittell High School at 4 p.m. To see that agenda and to get Zoom details, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1502.