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Running head: SCHOOL BOARD PROJECT

School Board Project


Danielle Pertile
EDU210
11/21/2015
Dr. Ce Isbell

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Introduction to the CCSD School Board and Procedures
The Clark County School Districts (or CCSD) school board consists of seven trustees,
including President Linda E. Young, Vice President Chris Garvey. Also present at the school
board meetings is the Superintendent of Schools Pat Skorkowsky. The CCSD board conducts
regular board meetings roughly once a month. Summarized in this paper is the regular board
meeting from November 12, 2015.
The meeting began with board member introductions, flag salute, invocation and
adoption of the agenda. Following that were reports from students involved in their student
government and leadership programs. A few students from various high school around the
county, from Las Vegas to Moapa valley gave reports on their school programs, clubs, athletics
and contributions to their communities, and were recognized by the board.
After the students were finished giving their reports, various educational programs
received recognition and support from the board. These programs included Each One Read One,
which is a literacy program that encourages students to read. The program is conducting an
inventing competition among the countys GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) programs. The
second initiative recognized by the board was the recently completed Week of Respect, which
was designed to encourage engagement amongst students, faculty and the community regarding
respectfulness and kindness.
The process of the board meeting itself is reflected in the first chapter of the Underwood
text. Underwood explains that School board policies guide the every-day actions of
administrators, teachers, staff, and students (2006. p. 13). The procedures, bureaucracy, and

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policies that are developed as part of these regular board meetings are what has shaped CCSD
into the district it is today.
Topics of Discussion
The topic that took up the most time in the meeting was the subject of race and
disproportionate discipline as a result of inadequate education for students of color. The topic
was first broached during the first round of public comments by a woman of color who spoke on
her daughters expulsion. This student had been bullied by another classmate with no
intervention from teachers. When the student finally stood up for herself, she made an
inappropriate comment and was expelled immediately. The mother claimed that her daughter was
not granted due process. The subject of due process is defined as being afforded under the
Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which requires due process before the state can
deny a person of life, liberty or property (Underwood, 2006. p. 168). The mother did claim that
her daughter had a hearing scheduled for a few days later, and it is possible the matter has
already been resolved. The fact remains, however, that the student who was bullying the girl did
not face any discipline. The disproportionate discipline problem is a real one that needs to be
addressed.
Another way in which disproportionate discipline was mentioned was the fact that
students of color are often diagnosed with a behavioral disorder and removed from the regular
classroom. Superintendent Skorkowsky explained a project called Camelot which is a staff
development program designed to cut down on these diagnoses and to continue to keep children
of color in the regular classroom. Superintendent Skorkowsky mentioned that it is necessary to
keep students in the least restrictive environment, and according to the Underwood text, it is also

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required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, otherwise known as IDEA (2006. p.
155). The Camelot project was a subject of heated debate for much of the 294 minutes of the
board meeting, but whether or not the trustees agree with the program, it is true that removing
students from the regular classroom is not usually the appropriate answer.
One more heated topic brought before the board was the subject of the CCSD pay freeze.
It was mentioned that Clark County teachers have not been offered a raise since July, and that
many teachers are angry enough about it that they are looking for employment elsewhere. It is no
secret that the district is short hundreds of teachers so the subject of teacher pay is an important
one. Unfortunately, because the teacher union is involved, the members of the board were unable
to make comments on the pay freeze, and President Young commented that she had to keep
looking over at the attorneys to make sure what she was saying was considered appropriate.
According to the text, teachers are allowed to participate in unions and use those unions for
collective bargaining purposes (Underwood, 2006. p. 40). Because of the union involvement,
however, there is even more red tape that teachers must cut through to get answers to their
questions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Clark County School Districts school board meeting followed all
proper procedures, and covered a variety of topics. The subject of disproportionate discipline
came up many times and was discussed at length and with great passion by those who supported
the Camelot Projects plan to create a more equitable system of education amongst races. Though
not freely discussed by the members of the board, the topic of the CCSD pay freeze was also
passionately arisen by a few of the citizens who spoke during the time for public comments.

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Overall, there are many serious hurdles that face CCSD on the road to becoming a more equal
and harmonious school district, but it is important that citizens and members of the board are
able to have discussions and face those problems together.

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REFERENCES
Regular Board Meeting. (2015, November 12). In CCSD School Board. Retrieved from
http://tv.ccsd.net/watch?v=33eUbdNhoLHq.

Underwood, J., & Webb, D. L. (2006). School law for teachers: Concepts and applications.
Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

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