[1:35] Good afternoon everyone. Good to see you.

[1:39] Welcome to the board of trustees for the WA County School District regular

[1:42] meeting for October 25th, 2026. It is at 2:01 p.m. and we will go ahead and call

[1:47] the meeting to order. Before we before I ask for roll call, I

[1:54] I do want to um point out that due to the continuing impact of the Hawkfire,

[1:59] the superintendent and I have determined that we will only hear items that are

[2:03] timesensitive today, we will only uh we will only be considering items in the

[2:08] consent agenda and item 3.04 04 regarding consideration of the board

[2:14] providing input to Nevada State Charter School Authority on the Doral Academy,

[2:17] Northern Nevada's request for amendment of his charter contract. All other items

[2:21] will be moved to a future meeting for those that have submitted public

[2:24] comment. Um uh the board clerk has indicated to me, JJ's indicated to me

[2:29] that we will make sure that those public comments uh get forwarded to the um to

[2:35] the next meeting when those items uh that those comments pertain to uh will

[2:40] be will be made public. Uh having that having said that item 1.02 is a roll

[2:46] call. So I'll ask uh the cler cler call to provide the role please.

[2:53] Um, I am here. President Mayberry >> here.

[2:57] » Dr. Nichollet. >> Good afternoon.

[3:01] » Trusty Phoenix >> present.

[3:03] » Trusty Smith >> here.

[3:05] » Sorry. Trusty Weslake >> here.

[3:08] » My voice cracked there. Vice President Woodley

[3:12] » here. >> And we have our trusty representative

[3:15] Kaye with us today. Welcome, Kaylee. We're excited to have you. We have a

[3:19] quorum. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. We'll move to

[3:22] item 1.03, the pledge of allegiance. I see a very distinguished Neadan in the

[3:26] audience, former Assemblyman uh Pat Hickey. Mr. Hickey, would you lead us in

[3:30] the pledge of allegiance, please?

[3:39] » I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands. One

[3:47] nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[3:57] » Thank you, sir.

[4:02] And at this time, item 1.04 is our land acknowledgement. Like to have uh Trustee

[4:06] Smith give us the pleasure of reading that, please.

[4:10] » Thank you, Mr. President. We acknowledge that the Wo County School District

[4:15] schools and communities are situated in the traditional homelands of the three

[4:19] major tribes of the Great Basin Native American peoples, including the northern

[4:25] Pyute, Wo, and Shosonyi tribes. We honor their ancestors, past and present, and

[4:31] recognize these lands as a continued gathering place for communities. We

[4:35] express our respect and gratitude for the opportunity to live, work, and learn

[4:40] here in Nevada. Thank you, Trusty Smith.

[4:45] We will hold off on item 1.05 till a future meeting. Moving on to consent

[4:49] agenda items two. I haven't seen any um indication that

[4:56] any uh trustees want to pull any agenda items. So, I'm happy to entertain an

[5:00] item uh to approve the agenda items from 2.02

[5:05] through 2.16.

[5:08] Yeah, I do need that, don't I? Okay. Do we have a public comment? Okay. Uh my

[5:12] apologies. We'll go to public comment first.

[5:16] » John Epalo for consent agenda items 2.06,

[5:20] 2.09, 2.11, and 2.14.

[5:27] » John Epileo. You can find 1500 of us on Facebook at protect Nevada children. Uh

[5:33] thank you to the attorney. When the old attorney was here, we asked three or

[5:37] four times, "How much money does the district spend on software and student

[5:41] devices?" We never got an answer. But now with the new attorney, we finally

[5:46] have an answer. Thank you. A few years ago, one of your teachers

[5:50] told me, quote, "If it wasn't for all these screens, we wouldn't need so many

[5:55] school psychologists." End quote. I don't think it's quite that simple, but

[5:59] she had a very good point. Today you will approve that the district spend a

[6:04] bunch of additional money for psychological services for students.

[6:09] Spending more money on screens, software, and psychologists is not the

[6:13] answer. As I said three years ago when I was the only one who spoke out against

[6:18] spending 6.5 million for I Ready, quote, "Is it too late to go back to educating

[6:25] kids?" Maybe five or six years ago, after Katie

[6:29] Simon Holland was no longer this board's president, she told me something like,

[6:34] quote, "Everything you've been saying is true." End quote. There was no

[6:39] substantial response when I asked her, "What are we going to do about it now?"

[6:44] What bothers me the most is how many students have been harmed because the

[6:49] district has ignored Protect Nevada Children and gave student devices and

[6:54] told them, "These are for your education.

[6:57] It's all been documented. The inappropriate use of student devices,

[7:01] the addiction to social media, at least one suicide, and a lot of WCSD students

[7:08] who have been emotionally harmed because of screens.

[7:11] In my opinion, instead of giving kids devices and more psychologists, you

[7:16] should go back to educating students and use Parent University to educate parents

[7:22] on the dangers of social media and screens.

[7:26] One of the first adapters of screens for education was the Scandinavian

[7:30] countries. Now, Sweden has completely eliminated

[7:34] screens through 8th grade, and the other Scandinavian countries will soon follow.

[7:39] Instead, Sweden has invested in, imagine this, books, papers, and pencils. The LA

[7:46] Unified School District has severely limited the amount of screen times for

[7:50] young children. This starting this year, preK through first grade, no screens.

[7:56] Second and third grade, max 20 minutes per day. Fourth and fifth grade, max 30

[8:02] minutes per day. Middle school, around an hour a day, please. Less screens,

[8:09] more books, papers, and pencils. Pencils. You can find us on Facebook at

[8:14] Protect Nevada Children.

[8:21] That's all I have. >> Okay. Thank you, JJ. We'll close public

[8:23] comment on the consent agenda. There's no uh items to be pulled. I'm

[8:29] looking for a motion to approve items 2.02

[8:35] through 2.16. Uh thank you, uh Mr. President. I move

[8:40] that the board of trustees approve consent agenda items 2.02 through 2.16.

[8:46] And I'll second. >> I have a motion on the floor by Trust

[8:50] Vice President Woodley, a second by Trustee Phoenix to approve the consent

[8:54] items 2.02 through 2.16. There's no further discussion. All in favor, please

[9:00] signify by saying I. >> I.

[9:02] » I. I. >> Those opposed.

[9:05] Motion carries unanimously. >> Can I Can I just mention?

[9:07] » Yeah, sure. Go ahead, please. Um, I I just want to mention uh a couple of of

[9:12] our colleagues asked some specific questions about the playground equipment

[9:16] and I I hope that everyone who's watching will take a look at those

[9:19] attachments because that is something that we worked really really hard. Um, I

[9:24] know Trusty Smith brought that item to this conversation and I think it's

[9:29] really important that we we share that this this item just approved several new

[9:34] playground equipment and we're having a lot of conversations about outdoor

[9:38] learning and more playtime for kids and we are we are fulfilling that promise

[9:42] with this item and um there's some really I wanted to go play on those

[9:45] playgrounds. They looked amazing and wonderful. So, I'm so excited for those

[9:49] schools and I just wanted to um to share that we are we are fulfilling the

[9:54] promises uh of that. So, I think it's really important that we bring it to

[9:59] light. Thank you. Okay. Items uh three items for

[10:05] presentation, discussion, information, and our action item. We are going to

[10:10] pull items 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 03 and those will be heard

[10:17] at a later meeting. Um we will go on item 3.4.

[10:25] Uh just some housekeeping items here before we begin. I do want to ask my

[10:30] fellow trustees just to jot down any questions. It's a lengthy presentation.

[10:34] Make sure you indicate the slide numbers if you want to reference or revisit all

[10:37] of the presentation. We'll hold all questions until staff has uh completed

[10:41] their full presentation. This allows our staff to present the information in its

[10:46] entirety. Ensures our community members are watching can hear the full context

[10:49] and respect the time and preparation of our presenters. In many cases, you may

[10:53] find that your questions are addressed as the pres presentation progresses.

[10:57] We'll then open it up for questions and discussion at the end. Um

[11:04] item

[11:10] » do you want to go ahead and make your disclosure now? Yeah.

[11:12] » Yeah. Go ahead, please. >> Thank you. Um, before we begin, I would

[11:16] like to um make a disclosure that I will not be participating in this

[11:20] conversation. Uh, ethically, I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to

[11:25] participate in this conversation. I have a close personal relationship with

[11:29] several teachers and administrators at the Dural Academy. My children also

[11:35] attended that school at one point in time and uh I work professionally with

[11:40] many people at that school. Uh and I just I feel like it would not be ethical

[11:45] for me to participate in this conversation. So I will be asking the

[11:48] president to excuse me from the meeting. Thank you.

[11:52] » Thank you clerk call. Appreciate that. [snorts]

[11:56] » Uh item 3.04 04 is a presentation, discussion, and

[12:02] possible action regarding the Wo County School District Board of Trustees wishes

[12:06] to provide input to the Nevada State Public Charter

[12:10] School Authority concerning a request from Dural Academy of Northern Nevada to

[12:13] amend his charter contract. This item is before the board because on

[12:19] August 6, 2026, the state public charter school authority or SPCSA formally

[12:25] notified the superintendent and myself as board president that Doral Academy of

[12:30] Northern Nevada has requested several significant amendments to its existing

[12:33] charter contract. According to the application submitted to SPCSA, Dor

[12:39] Academy seeking approval to establish a second campus on land owned by the

[12:44] University of Nevada Reno, construct a new school facility, expand from its

[12:49] current K through8 authorization to serve students in grades K through 12,

[12:54] and increases total enrollments by approximately

[12:57] 1570 to 1755 students, resulting in a combined enrollment of roughly 2,500

[13:03] students across his campuses. By the fifth year of its operation, the SPCA

[13:08] has advised that it is expected to consider the amendment request at its

[13:12] October 9th, 2026 meeting and has invited Wo County School District to

[13:17] provide comments or input regarding the proposal. The deadline for district

[13:21] comments is September 8th, 2026. Hence, we're meeting today on this uh item uh

[13:28] solely. The evening's discussion, I do want to be clear, is not a decision on

[13:32] the approval or denial of the charter amendment. That authority rests

[13:37] exclusively with the state public charter school authority. Rather, this

[13:40] agenda item provides an opportunity for board of trustees to review the

[13:44] proposal, discuss its potential implications, and determine whether the

[13:48] board wishes to submit comments or feedback to the SPCSA for consideration

[13:53] as part of its review process. As we proceed, I encourage all my colleagues

[13:57] to focus on their comments on matters relevant to the proposed amendment,

[14:01] including potential impacts on students, families, educational programs,

[14:04] facilities, enrollment, transportation, and any other considerations the board

[14:08] believes to be commun needs to should be communicated to the SPCSA.

[14:14] At this time, I do want to ask uh our staff to provide an overview of the

[14:18] amendment requests and any related information before opening the item for

[14:22] trustee discussion and possible action. With us is Adam Cersei, our chief

[14:26] operating officer, Chris Hackbush, chief academic officer, Jen Vantra is our

[14:30] chief academic officer, and Cameron Dyer, our general counsel.

[14:36] Vice President Woodley. >> Uh thank you. I just want uh first I'd

[14:40] like to uh uh express gratitude to you, President. I know we discussed this

[14:44] initially back in June when uh the same topic was on the agenda for the board of

[14:48] regents and since then I know we've had other board members that requested this

[14:52] item as well to come before uh on the agenda. So, thank you for that. But I

[14:56] just wanted to uh start to set the record straight because I received many

[14:59] phone calls from representatives in the community and some community leaders.

[15:04] And I just want to state for the record that we have this today because we have

[15:09] a fiduciary responsibility to our constituents, to our voters, to our

[15:15] students, to their families, to the neighborhoods, and the taxpayers that

[15:20] approved WC1 and approved everything that we do. Our intent is not to vilify

[15:27] any entity or to vilify any individuals that are doing their jobs. That is not

[15:32] our intent. And I want to make it clear, nor do we engage in any type of what I

[15:38] was asked um from several individuals was if we were threatening entities or

[15:43] businesses because if they were to do business with any other entity that it

[15:48] would we would hold it against them and I want that to be known that we do not

[15:53] engage in that type of of interaction. We're here as a community and we want to

[15:57] do what's best for our kids and our students and that's why we're having

[16:01] this item on the agenda today. Thank you.

[16:04] » All right. Thank you, Vice President Woodley. We'll go ahead and uh have

[16:07] staff present. Thank you for coming. >> Of course, I'll lead it off. Good

[16:11] afternoon. Uh thank you, President Mayberry, Superintendent McMaster, Board

[16:15] of Trustees. I'll introduce myself and let my colleagues introduce themselves.

[16:20] I'll be joined um as the slide suggests by others. Uh good afternoon. My name is

[16:25] Adam Cersei. For the record, I'm the chief operating officer. And honestly,

[16:30] uh, President Mayberry, your intro did a good job of summarizing really what's on

[16:34] the agenda here today. Um, the, uh, charter school expansion request, um, I

[16:42] should note is included as a part of this item's uh, attachment A, the full,

[16:49] um, proposed amendment. And that's really uh what what is summarized here

[16:53] on this slide and what we're here to to summarize throughout this presentation.

[16:57] So just sort of a vicinity exhibit to help everyone geographically orient

[17:02] themselves to the proposed location as well as some of the most immediately

[17:07] present school district facilities. The overview of our presentation today is a

[17:13] a summary of facts as we understand them. really a summary of the

[17:18] information that was presented to us for consideration. Um, you know, a thorough

[17:24] over 150 page document with lots of information we're going to try to go

[17:29] through and distill into a handful of slides as well as some related facts

[17:35] from the school district. As you uh alluded to, Vice President Woodley, we

[17:40] are going to stop short of any conjecture or conclusions, rather a

[17:44] summary and illustration of the proposal and uh with the intent of facilitation

[17:49] of a board a public board conversation on this proposal. So, starting off, this

[17:55] is kind of the table of contents or the order that we're going to uh try to

[17:59] present this to the board in. And starting off, we're going to go through

[18:03] basically a process overview of how this amendment may proceed. So, I'll

[18:09] transition over to uh Senior Deputy Council Cameron for the next several

[18:14] slides. Thank you. >> All right. Good afternoon, President

[18:19] Mayberry and members of the board. My name is Cameron Dyer, senior general

[18:22] counsel with the district. Uh thanks for allowing me to speak this afternoon.

[18:26] This first slide uh starts off with kind of the operative law behind the request

[18:31] for amendment that we um were notified from Durell Academy. I might refer to

[18:36] Dural Academy as DANDN for keeping it short. SPCSA I think we already have

[18:41] that one covered. Um the first uh piece on this slide is requesting an amendment

[18:46] under the relevant uh statutory framework here NRS 388276

[18:52] and that just says a govern a chart a charter school's governing body must

[18:56] submit a written request for an amendment to its sponsor. I think it's

[18:59] fairly straightforward that they have to go to their sponsor. In this case the

[19:02] sponsor is SPCSA and the uh charter school is uh Dural Academy Dan. Um, next

[19:07] we have the regulatory structure, uh, NAC 388A.400.

[19:13] This kind of goes into more of the details. The statute kind of is broad.

[19:16] The regulatory regulations are a little more specific. In this case, it talks

[19:20] about requiring the a written notice of intent to submit the request for

[19:24] amendment. That needs to be filed not less than 45 days prior to submitting

[19:29] the request for the amendment. And then the SPCSA in this case may upon request

[19:33] and for good cause shown accept a request to amend the charter school

[19:37] contract at any time. Can we do the next slide? Thank you. Um we're going to back

[19:42] up a little bit to kind of another statutory structure that looks at

[19:45] amendments. This one calls out five specific categories for amendments. Um

[19:50] you can see them on the slide. One's expansion of instruction, one is

[19:53] increasing enrollment, one is reducing total enrollment, another one's

[19:57] acquiring an additional facility, and the final one's consolidating the

[20:01] operations of multiple charter schools into a single location.

[20:05] Um, in this case, the uh proposed request for amendment hits on three of

[20:10] these, which is the expanding instruction, increasing total

[20:14] enrollment, and acquiring an additional facility to expand enrollment. Um D and

[20:19] E are a slightly different color here because under those two pieces the

[20:22] sponsor must deny the request if the school that's asking for the amendment

[20:28] doesn't mean it's performance framework um which is includes academics finances

[20:32] or organizational structure um under a separate statute or the

[20:37] governing body lacks a comprehensive and feasible plan to operate the additional

[20:41] facilities. Uh the performance framework as

[20:45] indicated is here. You have three pieces academics, finances, and organizational

[20:49] structure. Um my co-sponsor or co-presenters today will go over those

[20:54] in more detail.

[20:57] So there's an additional process required pursuant to the NAC 38A400

[21:02] I hit on earlier. Um in this case, I'm going to focus on good cause. Um Dan

[21:09] submitted its RFA for good cause based on anticipated opening dates in 2028

[21:15] landly's negotiations with UNR and uh the board of regents in a pending due

[21:20] diligence period. That's what they provided in their notice in their

[21:22] application. What they haven't shown is there's any specific need to actually

[21:27] open a school in 2028. They haven't shown that there's any pending

[21:31] agreements or contracts that would result in this hardship or harm if the

[21:35] amendment is not granted. now in the short term or whatever time frame um

[21:41] applicable and they haven't shown that time's of the essence given that Dan's

[21:45] been working on this amendment for over 18 months it seems like there's not

[21:49] really a rush it feels a little hurried that's me maybe prognosticating a little

[21:53] bit but next page please um an extra layer for our SPCSA

[21:59] sponsored schools is that 45day notice of intent I hit on earlier

[22:04] um as I noted they are required to submit 45 days prior to the amendment

[22:10] request itself goes to the sponsor in this case SPCSA.

[22:14] Um we have included into the record a

[22:18] supplement um I think is updated already indicating an exchange that we had with

[22:23] the SPCSA trying to get the information around this 45day notice of intent. Uh

[22:29] when we asked for that we did not receive copies. We did not receive any

[22:32] indication that that intent had been filed prior to us receiving this um RFA

[22:38] that was filed in mid June. Um once the meeting materials went up on this for

[22:44] today's uh uh board trustees meeting we were informed informally that that

[22:48] notice had come in. So we are um unaware of what that notice looks like. We have

[22:52] not received a copy but there is some documentation that you can take a look

[22:55] at that's posted as part of the uh meeting materials relating to that.

[23:00] [clears throat] Um the second piece after that 45day

[23:03] notice of intent is there is a required hearing. Uh this one specifically

[23:08] applies to the SPCSA for their sponsored schools and the statute uh NRS 388279

[23:15] requires the SPCSA to hold a public hearing regarding an amendment.

[23:21] Based on what we've seen um especially with the the lacking 45 notice that we

[23:26] were unaware of until potentially recently and

[23:30] possibly insufficient showing of good cause. Um it doesn't appear that we can

[23:37] hold a hear or the SPCsa can hold a hearing in line with our own regulations

[23:41] and laws at this point. Um however, it's been put on the agenda for the SPCSA. As

[23:48] far as we know, this was in the notice and the attached materials for October

[23:51] 9th, 2026.

[23:55] Um NAC 388A400 has a lot of subp parts. We're going to

[24:00] skip to number nine because this one looks at um multiacampus uh facilities.

[24:05] Currently Dan operates a single campus and this request for amendment looks to

[24:11] expand it to a multiacampus situation. Um this regulation imposes five specific

[24:16] conditions on exactly this kind of conversion.

[24:19] And if those conditions aren't met, the SPCSA cannot approve the amendment.

[24:24] Those requirements are listed below. One, two, three, four, five, an academic

[24:28] leader, metriculation policy, an application lottery pro process for each

[24:33] of the campuses are separate name, grade levels, and location of the new campus,

[24:37] and then authority to uh reconstitute, restart, or close each campus

[24:41] separately. On the next slide, you'll see that four

[24:47] of those five requirements were not addressed in the amendment. Um, it

[24:51] doesn't describe who the distinct academic leader is with at each campus.

[24:56] There's no discussion about the metriculation policy. It says it will be

[25:00] determined later. There's no per campus lottery that's been set up. It just uh

[25:05] suggests that the um lottery at the new campus would mirror the one at the

[25:09] existing campus. And then there's no um reconstitution, restart or closure of

[25:14] each campus plan. Uh the RFA does cover name, grade levels and location of each

[25:19] campus.

[25:23] So putting it together, we have a road map um left to right. Uh the whole

[25:27] process starts with the public meeting. And this is this is kind of simplifying

[25:30] the kind of statuto regulatory structure into something that's a little more

[25:34] digestible, if you will. So it starts on the left. There's a public meeting to

[25:38] talk about whether the request should be submitted. Then a notice of intent goes

[25:43] to the uh sponsor. Then the submit the request is submitted and the district

[25:48] would be notified. That's us and we were notified. That's why we're here today.

[25:52] We got that notice from the SPCSA of the proposed RFA.

[25:56] Uh the sponsor would review the SPCSA will review the uh request for amendment

[26:01] and then they can choose to approve or deny it at in this case a required

[26:04] public hearing.

[26:08] And the last two slides look at the timeline of where things stand. Um, this

[26:12] first one is completed to date. We are at the in between the two bottom dots

[26:17] there between August 6th and September 8th. Uh, we have the notice and we have

[26:22] the opportunity to submit um informal uh input to the SPCSA before they take

[26:29] this to a hearing. The next page uh shows the upcoming steps. These are

[26:34] based on what's in the uh request for amendment.

[26:38] There's obviously room for these things to move, but this is kind of where the

[26:41] prognosis stands right now um from a process standpoint. And with that, um I

[26:47] will wrap up my portion and pass it back to Mr. Cersi.

[26:53] » Thank you, Cameron. Again, Adam Cersi for the record. I'm going to take you

[26:57] through the next several slides. Um this bullet point is roughly a table of

[27:01] contents. um reflecting how the application is structured um and roughly

[27:07] how we're going to go through its summary. This is based on the link on

[27:12] this slide um the uh template provided by the SPCSA for the purposes of as it

[27:18] says there requesting an amendment for charter school applications and whatnot.

[27:22] So you can see the different basically chapters of the full amendment request

[27:28] that uh we're going to break down now. So starting off really a statement of

[27:32] request as somewhat Cameron touched on many of these points. These four

[27:38] elements primary elements are listed and detailed and described in the amendment

[27:43] request um associated with you know their their reasoning the addition of a

[27:47] new campus the expansion of their enrollment and then both the affiliation

[27:52] agreement and the land lease associated with the university.

[27:56] Next several chapters go into more detail regarding the statement of need,

[28:01] a statement of purpose and proposed rationale. And while there are a lot of

[28:05] paragraphs and narrative around these points, the two primary uh pillars of

[28:12] their statement of need, purpose, and rationale is a sustained unmet

[28:16] enrollment demand and a need for more innovative and career connected learning

[28:22] opportunities. These are the exact language that are used repeatedly in the

[28:27] application. Um, as I said, lengthy explanations and narrative around these

[28:32] points. Uh, we're unable to provide any analysis. There's no data or sources

[28:38] provided in the application regarding these two primary points.

[28:43] But just breaking it down now into the proposed scope and timeline somewhat as

[28:48] has been described. Um the timeline is such that uh they propose to cause the

[28:55] school to open the 2829 school year. So breaking that down, they talk in some

[29:00] depth about how due diligence and preliminary design would ensue

[29:04] throughout the balance of 2026 and that the entirety of the design and

[29:10] permitting would uh be completed throughout 2027

[29:16] uh culminating in the beginning of construction. the start of construction

[29:21] in the fall of 2027 um August 2027 with again a completion

[29:27] stated in the application of July 2028 ahead of an August 2028 opening and

[29:33] we'll we'll come back in more detail and talk about that scope approximately 25

[29:38] acres of land and a new building of approximately 100,000 square ft. Um

[29:45] there is some lengthy narrative in the application around various agencies that

[29:50] would uh need to be satisfied and provide approvals for such a

[29:54] construction project. Many of those agencies are noted on this page. Um

[29:59] there are a number of agencies that may likely also require some degree of

[30:05] consultation or approvals that are also noted on this slide uh that were not

[30:12] mentioned in the application. But uh as someone who has led now every project is

[30:19] different that comes with a variety of twists and turns. But as someone who has

[30:24] led many projects of a similar nature through these types of uh processes,

[30:31] uh it is fair to state that this is a highly aggressive timeline and accepts a

[30:36] great deal of risk. That alone is certainly not a failure, uh but

[30:41] something that is to be noted. The next section of the application, as

[30:47] outlined by the SPCSA, deals with stakeholder notice and stakeholder

[30:52] impact. Um, and so the application does a good job of detailing various

[30:57] stakeholders, how and when they were communicated with, and to some degree

[31:02] what level of impact they might expect or are anticipated uh from the

[31:07] applicant's perspective. So, of course, uh, existing students, families, and

[31:11] staff at Dural Academy, um, uh, have been communicated with in various forms

[31:17] and fashions, including minutes from their board that were included in the

[31:22] application, uh, dating back into early 2025.

[31:27] Also uh well detailed in the application is uh engagement and ultimately publicly

[31:34] approved formal agreements between uh Dural Academy and the University of

[31:40] Nevada and she um as recently as June 2026.

[31:45] Community industry and partners uh is noted and discussed at some length. Um

[31:51] again uh a lot of nar narrative and then also a number of letters of support were

[31:58] included in the application from various local and community industry partners.

[32:03] Um and of course the county school district is noted as a stakeholder. uh

[32:08] there is one mention in July 2025 regarding a meeting uh with limited

[32:14] detail associated with it and then within the separate impact portion of

[32:20] the application WCSD is not mentioned. Um as detailed in the staff report, a

[32:27] simple uh extrapolation of the projected enrollments

[32:32] um and the associated per pupil revenue funds um are also detailed on this

[32:38] slide.

[32:42] The next section uh several slides uh summarize the financial impact and uh

[32:48] projections associated with this application. So this slide really just

[32:53] goes over the the contents of the application and some of these major

[32:59] assumptions. Again, we're looking at enrollments,

[33:03] capital cost, upfront capital costs, operating expenses, ongoing costs, and

[33:09] the debt financing. So these at the bottom of this slide um breaks down the

[33:15] projected enrollments into a year-by-year projection. So obviously

[33:19] they're looking to grow from 800 and some students in year 1 to570

[33:25] plus in year five. Uh the construction costs are detailed in the application to

[33:31] range for from between $400 and $500 per square foot. That's just the

[33:35] construction costs with the total project costs estimated at 50 to 55

[33:40] million for the total project. and then uh a number of details around their

[33:46] proposed debt financing appearing to assume a term of 30 years. That's really

[33:51] the highle summary of those revenues or pardon me the financial impact analysis.

[33:58] Um these are these are some takeaways that our business office put together.

[34:02] Um most of these revenue assumptions appear to be within a a range of

[34:09] reasonleness. Um there were a couple of questions noted uh by our business

[34:14] office specifically large increases in interest income associated uh with some

[34:21] of their bond financing. So that was something that we had questions on um

[34:26] that that uh wasn't readily answered in the application. Um as well as some

[34:31] revenues attributed to prek enrollments um which wasn't fully detailed in the

[34:38] application. We weren't sure exactly what that was referring to, but the per

[34:41] pupil funding is noted to uh be projected to increase 2 and a.5% a year

[34:47] and other per pupil funding are noted and appear reasonable.

[34:52] Similar on the expenditure side, you can see that the application suggests that

[34:57] teacher staffing would remain constant, that uh appropriate levels of

[35:02] administrative staffing and associated costs are assumed, modest uh cost of

[35:07] living increases are assumed and retirement costs and inc modest

[35:12] increases there are also assumed all appearing to be within a range of

[35:16] reasonleness.

[35:20] debt financing is noteworthy um in no small part because of its size.

[35:26] This is a large factor associated with such a large undertaking. And so um that

[35:32] was noted at an estimate estimated amount of 3.8 million annually. Um so

[35:39] again some questions remain on that. Uh they did highlight uh a bit about their

[35:46] uh bond category. um which conflicted with some publicly

[35:50] available information but again overall uh given the information that was

[35:56] provided in the application this appears to fall within a range of reasonleness.

[36:01] So kind of in summary regarding the financial projections, uh limited

[36:06] questions from our business team regarding the projected revenues on as I

[36:11] mentioned prek funds and um interest incomes. No obvious areas of significant

[36:18] concern regarding the projected operating costs going forward.

[36:23] The largest variables however in this or most projects and therefore the largest

[36:28] areas of risk uh really include the total initial

[36:32] project costs and the immediate and ongoing

[36:36] enrollments or revenues associated with those. So really no matter how we slice

[36:42] it to summarize this while the uh financial impact and assumptions appear

[36:48] to be reasonable uh we wanted to at least highlight um that should those

[36:53] assumptions around total project costs or projected enrollments change that

[37:00] that really exacerbates any risk associated with the project.

[37:04] So moving on to a little bit more about the facilities. We touched on this

[37:08] earlier. Proposal suggests a campus estimated to occupy 25 acres on which

[37:15] they anticipate constructing a new building of approximately 100,000 square

[37:19] feet. Again, in that application, it's suggested that the total broad budget

[37:25] pro total project budget um is anticipated to be between 50 and

[37:30] 55 million. That equates to about $500 to $550 per square foot. Um, I think

[37:36] it's always important to just sort of overemphasize. Often times we look at a

[37:40] construction bid, for example, divide that by the project square footage to

[37:46] come up with a construction square footage. There are many additional

[37:49] costs. Of course, that is the largest component of a total project cost, the

[37:53] construction of the building. But there are design costs,

[37:57] uh, permitting costs, um, and furniture, furniture, fixtures,

[38:03] and equipment costs that add to the total project cost. But just by way of

[38:08] reference, and we'll talk about this more later, uh, the district's recent

[38:12] actual total project costs have been between $650 and $750 a square foot. Of

[38:19] course, every project is unique in its own way, but just by way of uh point of

[38:24] comparison. Also detailed in the facility section

[38:29] and appended to the application are an affiliation agreement with the

[38:34] University of Nevada and a land lease um executed by the Nevada Board of Regents

[38:41] with the University of Nevada. So, um, in summary, the lease includes all

[38:46] rights for the tenant, Dural Academy, to construct this new building on UNR

[38:52] property with an initial term of 20 years. That lease includes up to three

[38:59] 10-year options, and there's a specific section in the in the agreement um

[39:06] providing that the university has no obligation to extend those options. So

[39:11] they are they are optional um options I guess. Um so just just again by way of

[39:17] orienting you to the highle terms of the lease agreement. Also in the lease

[39:22] agreement um there are several different um scenarios considered by which the

[39:29] tenant may be found to be in default. For example, if they fail to uh if they

[39:34] pause construction for more than 90 days, things of that nature. But

[39:38] fundamentally um there is a completion date uh certificate of occupancy like

[39:43] the actual construction of the building must be completed on or before August

[39:47] 31st 2029 or the tenants may be found in default. Um within the lease agreement

[39:54] the rent is set at a flat $75,000 per year. Um there are various escalators um

[40:01] associated with that, but basically that's what the the uh rent finance

[40:07] looks like with annual 2% increases baked in.

[40:12] Um and then lastly, uh the university at the end of the term will own all of the

[40:18] on-site improvements or upon default or when the lease is retired. Um and then

[40:24] at such time there is no option to purchase by uh Dural or anyone else

[40:32] unless amended. So that's kind of a highle summary of the lease itself.

[40:38] Continuing on with facilities, I mentioned some of our recent um actual

[40:44] costs per square foot for some of our projects. We wanted to include this

[40:48] larger exhibit um again for uh regional orientation. We talk often about

[40:54] enrollment zones and and kind of vertical alignment within our district

[40:59] ecosystem. Others speak in terms of zip codes and things of that nature. I think

[41:05] we all know this part of our community quite well with the various roadways and

[41:09] things like that, but I thought it was helpful to just sort of see it on a map

[41:12] like this. Um, we also talk at length about all of the various projects that

[41:20] have been completed, have been approved in some form or fashion by this board,

[41:26] um, or are approved as a part of our five-year capital improvement plan. So

[41:31] that is an a listing including but not limited to of all of the various

[41:37] projects associated with many of these schools and their approximate completion

[41:41] timeline and approximate total project budgets.

[41:46] I uh additionally included just a listing for awareness of nearby WCSD

[41:54] schools you see listed on the bottom um as well as nearby WCSD sponsored charter

[42:02] schools. All of those schools are depicted on the map as well.

[42:10] The next section talks a little bit more about enrollment.

[42:14] As we mentioned previously, this is the primary revenue assumption and a primary

[42:21] element uh underpinning their statement of need. Um just to uh reiterate and to

[42:27] be clear, there are no changes requested in this application to the enrollment

[42:31] cap associated with the current um Geral Academy campus which is capped at uh an

[42:37] enrollment of 996. Uh the new application requests an

[42:43] enrollment proposal cap of 1570 or 1596. There's two different numbers in the

[42:49] application. So it's right in there. I just want to [clears throat] you know

[42:54] make note that there were two different numbers. So we're kind of um

[42:57] highlighting both. And then further in the meeting minutes uh included in the

[43:02] application um it is indicated that the enrollment caps approved by the SPCFSA

[43:09] typically come with a 10% um variation. Um that the caps are allowed to operate

[43:17] at up to 110% of that ceiling or in this case up to 1755 students. If you take

[43:26] that 1596 student uh cap also the exhibit there is uh a

[43:33] part of the application showing kind of the breakdown I mentioned earlier

[43:37] [clears throat] how they anticipate uh initially filling their school roles and

[43:42] then growing into that maximum cap in five years

[43:49] regarding enrollments. Uh I wanted to illustrate this graphic again because

[43:56] this the the enrollment is such a primary part of the statement of need

[44:01] regarding sustained enrollment demand. Uh we have no data regarding uh weight

[44:07] lists or other uh factors of demand associated with uh the Geral Academy,

[44:13] but we do know how many children have been born to Wo County resident mothers

[44:19] for the last 20 plus years. This is a graphic illustrating the total number of

[44:25] births to Wo County mothers uh going back to 2004. I can tell you

[44:31] that that we have data beyond that and that it has been 25 years since we have

[44:37] seen the same number of births in Wo County as we saw in the year 2025

[44:44] despite the fact that there are approximately 185,000 more humans living

[44:49] in Wo County today than there were 25 years ago. This is to belabor a point

[44:54] that we've many we've made many times in this and many other meetings that this

[44:58] is a long-term regional and national trend of declining birth rates in our

[45:04] community. This is simply a fact. This is all historical information, not a

[45:09] projection.

[45:12] drilling into this uh historical information in a bit more detail to uh

[45:19] dive a little bit deeper on this variable of enrollment. The graphic you

[45:24] see on your left are historic actual total enrollment numbers across WCSD

[45:33] enrollments, district sponsored charters,

[45:37] uh, Wo County area private schools, and area state sponsored charter schools all

[45:45] broken down on those uh, bar charts. And what I think the takeaway there is is

[45:50] the top line that for six consecutive years our entire region regardless of

[45:58] state sponsored, district sponsored, district operated, private schools for

[46:02] six consecutive years, the total number of K12 students in Wo County has

[46:08] declined. And that is uh historical fact. Drilling in to a little bit more

[46:15] detail still, we took a snapshot of the 24 nearest schools to this location. Of

[46:23] course, with any magnet school, there are a number of variables that might

[46:27] influence precise enrollment uh patterns. So, we're not going to get

[46:32] into that level of speculation or projection, but looking at the annual

[46:37] historic enrollments across the 24 WCSD schools nearest to this location, you

[46:44] see a similar trend of declining enrollment.

[46:48] So, this is about trends and not specific projections.

[46:52] This is not necessarily to draw conclusions with, but it is to provide

[46:57] additional context to historical facts relative to key elements of this

[47:02] application for all of our consideration.

[47:05] These are the elements associated with the financial, enrollment, and facility

[47:10] elements of the proposal. And now I want to transition it to my colleagues for

[47:14] more in-depth discussion about the academic elements of the proposal.

[47:18] » Thank you.

[47:23] Okay. Thank you, Adam. Good afternoon. Chris Hackbush, chief academic officer

[47:26] for secondary education. For the record, [snorts]

[47:29] um here to address some of the academic and other questions uh pertaining to

[47:34] unique and different offerings. Uh the proposed rationale for the

[47:38] charter uh expansion request states that there's a uh unmet unmet need for

[47:44] sustained enrollment demand and need for more innovative and career connected

[47:49] learning opportunities. I'm here to share what we do offer as a district uh

[47:54] which we pro which we provide substantial benefits to our students.

[47:59] From the proposal uh there's a mention of learning labs uh extensively. Uh it's

[48:04] not specified if that's CTE education or not. Uh likely maybe dual credit

[48:09] courses. Uh Wash County School District offers some of the most unique and

[48:14] different academic offerings including innovative and career connected learning

[48:18] opportunities. On this slide, you'll see uh some of those listed. So dual credit

[48:23] coursework through TMCC, UNR, and other uh higher educational partnerships

[48:28] throughout our high schools. comprehensive CTE pathways in

[48:32] engineering, health sciences, computer science, advanced manufacturing,

[48:36] business, uh, education, technology, uh, AP and honors coursework across all

[48:42] comprehensive high schools, STEM focusedmies and magnet schools and

[48:47] programs, early college opportunities for TMCC high school and existing

[48:52] university partnerships, and career exploration and work learning

[48:56] experiences through CTE and community partnerships.

[49:03] This slide shares specifically uh some of the uh CTE offerings that we uh

[49:10] provide in our district, which is extensive. We're proud of the growth of

[49:14] our career and technical educational offerings districtwide,

[49:17] not to mention the ever growing internships and workplace readiness

[49:21] opportunities for our students. Whether you want to be a future engineer, pilot,

[49:26] teacher, a career, have a career in healthcare, or work in the trades like

[49:29] diesel mechanics or manufacturing, Wash County School District provides those

[49:34] educational experiences districtwide. I want to highlight Wash County School

[49:38] District provides busing for our two CTEMI, AACT and Debbie Smith.

[49:45] Uh I want to further share that CT for all expands to all our schools and that

[49:51] initiative uh is leveraging the generous donation of Gilmont Foundation providing

[49:56] two pathway to aviation programs at AACT and the North Valley's high school

[50:01] vertical. This grant also includes drone clubs in all our middle schools uh in

[50:08] select elementaryaries which is truly a transformational opportunity for our

[50:12] community. Um the CT for all concept I wanted to

[50:16] kind of clarify is if you remember we had signaturemies

[50:20] uh in our district that's been a transition where we're we're offering uh

[50:25] advanced coursework in the CTE realm across our schools. Okay. Uh

[50:32] and that's I think that's an important point. I also want to uh explain as well

[50:36] that the offerings uh and the space in terms of ACC and Debbie Smith um are not

[50:43] exclusive to CT. I think a lot of people don't understand that that we do have

[50:47] these courses in all our high schools and that the the school of choice uh

[50:52] open enrollment process provides families choice in these programs. I

[50:57] think that's important as well. Okay. I wanted to highlight some

[51:04] academics uh uh in terms of Vaughn Middle School. I wanted the

[51:08] reconstruction as a new three-story campus uh opened in uh this August, this

[51:14] past August, featuring advanced STEM labs, robotics areas, and dedicated

[51:19] creative maker spaces. The facility incorporates collaborative student hubs,

[51:24] a specialized deaf heart of hearing program with enhanced acoustics and

[51:29] integrated observation areas for partnership with UNR to train future

[51:35] educators. If you've uh been able to walk that building, you may have seen

[51:38] that in class where you have an observation uh space where it doesn't

[51:42] disrupt the learning going on, but student teachers can can view what's

[51:45] going on in the classroom. Uh not to mention it's a IB middle years program

[51:51] which we've uh come to our board and presented on uh a few uh months back and

[51:56] a dual language academy within Vaughn. Um also included here that not only our

[52:02] schools provide unique and innovative academic offerings, our district

[52:06] sponsored charters do as well. Just if you look at the titles of our district

[52:11] charters, you will see the array of offerings. You know, you've got this the

[52:15] Coral Academy of Sciences. You've got um Mariposa with the languages. Uh ACE

[52:22] again career exploration and a five-star school. Uh encompass high desert

[52:27] monastery and snacks. Those are all very diverse experiences

[52:32] for a community. And of these of this list, four of these schools are title.

[52:42] So with that, this next slide goes into what exactly do we offer. Uh we share

[52:50] five featured schools. Uh what extensive choices we offer within the proximity of

[52:55] the proposed charter request. Uh you can see here on the chart, if you

[53:01] can squint your eyes there a little bit, we have you know our CTE sections. These

[53:05] are number of courses. the uh in AP, the enrollment in AP, the dual credit which

[53:12] is growing across our district uh with those uh enrollments and then of course

[53:18] our IB offerings across uh AACT uh Demani Ranch and Reed Sparks and

[53:25] Wooster uh districtwide the line underneath the chart there are

[53:32] some numbers there in terms of overall numbers for AP and how many students

[53:36] that impacts dual credit again over 4,000 impacted students and then the IB

[53:44] program. Key highlights that we want to share from the data that we took on this

[53:49] districtwide again Reno High School leads across the district in terms of AP

[53:54] participation with over uh 1100 almost 1,200 students

[53:59] among the featured schools here. Worster offers the IB program with 46 sections

[54:05] impacting 589 students. the Monty Ranch and Reeds a close second provide uh the

[54:13] most dual credit uh opportunities and impact the most students in terms of

[54:18] dual credit currently and that's I think regionally something to note uh in terms

[54:23] when we look at at the proximity of this uh proposal uh the feature schools

[54:29] collectively uh over 331 advanced courses and pathway sections

[54:35] um again it's important to note families may apply for the Wash County School

[54:40] District School of Choice process to access specialized programs when

[54:44] capacity is available, including AP, IB, CTE, dual credit, concurrent enrollment,

[54:50] and signature academy pathways. These opportunities provide expanded access to

[54:56] rigorous coursework, college credit, career preparation, and specialized

[55:00] educational experiences across the district. featured schools were based on

[55:05] regional impact and do not include Debbie Smith CTE in all these offerings.

[55:10] So again, want to highlight that. At this point, I'm going to turn it over to

[55:14] Chief Vanress that will continue our presentation.

[55:22] » Thank you. Thank you. Uh Chief Hackbush, Jennifer Vaness, Chief Academic Officer

[55:27] for Wo County School District. So um on this slide we are comparing the

[55:32] demographics of students currently served in Wo County School District and

[55:36] Dural. Uh for our the most recent data that we can have is from the 2425 school

[55:43] year. So while enrollment patterns vary across the school systems there are

[55:48] several notable differences in the populations being served. In particular,

[55:53] WCSD serves substantially higher percentages of students eligible for

[55:58] free and reduced lunch, students with disabilities, and English learners.

[56:03] For example, WOO serves students with disabilities at approximately 16.7%

[56:09] compared to 10.3% at Dural. Similar similarly, EEL represents 15.2%

[56:18] of WCSD compared to 1.2 at Dural.

[56:24] There are also notable differences in racial and ethnic demographics. Hispanic

[56:30] students represent 44% of WCSD compared to 17 at Dural and white students

[56:36] represent approximately 40% of WCSD compared to 68%

[56:41] at Dural. Taken together, these demographic

[56:45] differences provide important context for us to consider whether the proposed

[56:49] campus is designed to attract and serve a student population that reflects the

[56:55] surrounding community. Um, the Dural application projects

[57:00] growth in both student groups as the new campus expands. However, with the

[57:06] projected growth, the anticipated percentages remain well below the

[57:10] current levels in WO. In comparison with the zip code area that Dural is

[57:16] proposing, WSDSD provides comprehensive continuum of services including

[57:21] specialized programs for students with autism, deaf and heart of hearing

[57:25] services, intensive behavior supports, intense EL services, and newcomer

[57:30] supports for our EL students and families.

[57:33] While the application references special education staffing and related services,

[57:38] the staffing plan does not identify any specialized programs, school

[57:42] psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, or even providing a

[57:46] continuum of services comparable to those in Wo.

[57:54] We also want to touch base on who is currently being served to served to how

[57:59] um Dural is proposing to recruit for the new campus. The application identifies

[58:05] several recruiting strategies including outreach to students on the current

[58:09] Dural weight list and as uh Chief um Cersei pointed out earlier, we have no

[58:14] idea as to who is on that weight list or what populations actually that um group

[58:20] represents. um families near the proposed campus and

[58:24] then students attending the surrounding areas. We know from our own demographics

[58:28] that the area they are proposing to build have higher e numbers than most of

[58:32] the county school district. Yet, they're only anticipating an increase uh of

[58:37] their e population by 89 students. It also references a weighted lottery

[58:43] intended to support underserved students. However, we did not find any

[58:48] details regarding how that lottery would um operate or whether specific

[58:53] considerations would be provided for EL learners, students with disabilities or

[58:57] students experience ex economic disadvantages.

[59:02] The application outlines services for special education and EL learners and

[59:06] how they would be provided. Yet, none of these services are above and beyond what

[59:09] are required under state and federal law and nothing unique to Dural.

[59:15] The primary question for consideration is not whether services will be provided

[59:19] as required, but whether the application offers sufficient detail regarding how

[59:24] these students populations will be recruited, enrolled, and provided

[59:28] appropriate services as they expand. We found limited information regarding

[59:34] how students requiring more intense services would be served through the

[59:37] proposed model, such as students with autism, deaf and hearty hearing, or

[59:42] behavior interventions which currently reside in the in the population in the

[59:46] area they're targeting. Ultimately, while the application projects increased

[59:51] enrollment for students with disabilities and English learners, it

[59:54] provides limited details regarding the strategies, staffing, and specialized

[59:58] programming that would be used to achieve the outcomes for the unique

[1:00:03] learners, thus limiting our understanding of how they would truly

[1:00:06] address the needs of the targeted population.

[1:00:12] » Thanks, Jen. So, that concludes the summary of this application. And I want

[1:00:17] to appreciate my colleagues here today and many others who spent a good deal of

[1:00:22] time over the last 10 days uh putting this analysis together. It's by no means

[1:00:27] comprehensive but intended to provide an informed foundation for the discussion

[1:00:32] of the board here today. Um, as noted originally, SPCSA provided a copy of

[1:00:38] this request to the district uh board president and superintendent

[1:00:43] offering the opportunity to provide input and requesting that if we chose to

[1:00:47] do so, uh, to do so prior to September 8th. Um, and in that notice, uh, SPCSA

[1:00:55] also highlighted that they anticipate considering this amendment request at

[1:00:59] their regularly scheduled October 9th, 2026 board meeting.

[1:01:04] So, with that, I'll uh return the mic to the president and uh open it up for any

[1:01:09] questions. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you, Mr. Cers. Appreciate

[1:01:11] it. And Mr. Dyer, I do want to welcome you to the Washington County School

[1:01:14] District. I think this is your for your first time behind the the podium, so

[1:01:17] it's good to see you and wish you good luck.

[1:01:19] » Absolutely. Thank you, President Mayberry.

[1:01:20] » You're welcome. Um so, colleagues, let's let's do this. I know there's there's a

[1:01:25] lot to talk about. Uh let's really stick to clarifying questions first if we can

[1:01:30] and um then we will open it up to public comment uh for those in the audience. So

[1:01:35] are there any clarifying questions for our staff

[1:01:40] and there we go. Trusty Smith, you're up.

[1:01:43] » You know you can count on me, Mr. President. Um okay, couple clarifying

[1:01:48] questions. Um, also based on some public comment,

[1:01:54] can you please clarify the number of district sponsored charter schools we

[1:01:59] have here in the Wo County School District?

[1:02:05] So, while you look at that, and I don't just mean in this area, um, I'll start

[1:02:10] with the clarifying statement to the public that the Wo County School

[1:02:14] District does sponsor charter schools. And can you state for the record how

[1:02:18] many charter schools we do support?

[1:02:23] » Yeah. So if we go to slide 29, we'll have the the list there for you. I did

[1:02:28] include all of them right there. >> Okay. So is that like 11?

[1:02:35] » Well, the multiple campuses. >> There's the multiple Coral Academy uh

[1:02:40] campuses. Yeah. Which there are five. >> Thank you so much. And then can you also

[1:02:45] clarify if the WO County School District is the largest sponsor of charter

[1:02:50] schools in all of Wo County? >> Yeah, I believe so. Yes, I I believe so.

[1:02:57] » Thank you. I [snorts] thank you for that. I appreciate that. Okay. Um, so

[1:03:02] going to the percentage of students, which I think is shown really well on

[1:03:08] that slide 31. Um, I do have some questions. Thank you for this

[1:03:13] information. I find this to be helpful. What percentage of at risk students does

[1:03:19] the Wo County School District serve? I noticed that that demographic was not

[1:03:23] here roughly. >> So, uh, when you think about to be able

[1:03:29] to compare for, um, Wo County School District's enrollment, really, we're

[1:03:33] looking at our free and reduced lunch. Um that also could include their CIT

[1:03:37] students. Um and um our um

[1:03:43] I don't want to call them homeless. There's another word for it. Our un

[1:03:46] rehomed owners. >> Yeah. Yeah. Children in transition which

[1:03:49] are foster children in between unstable housing. Yeah.

[1:03:53] » Yes. The the free and reduced numbers the 38,000 is approximately how many we

[1:03:57] have in our district that are considered at risk.

[1:04:00] » Okay. Thank you. I really appreciate that. And is there a different

[1:04:04] designation for children in transition? Because I know that has a slightly

[1:04:08] different definition than at risk. >> Yes. So the children in transition are

[1:04:13] children who are in transition. Um I may phone a friend on this one because I

[1:04:18] know Dr. Lamar is in our the audience at the moment.

[1:04:22] » I I do I don't know if he's if he's here.

[1:04:24] » Oh, did he sneak out of >> That's okay. Um and and so I appreciate

[1:04:29] that because we we do have so a very large number of at risk um children who

[1:04:33] are designated at risk and within this immediate area I for example Libby Booth

[1:04:39] Elementary School once upon a time um maybe still now actually serves the

[1:04:43] largest number of children in transition in the Wo County School District.

[1:04:51] Uh yes. Okay. Yes, they um yes and it is also title and 100% free and reduced

[1:04:55] lunch. >> Thank you. I very much appreciate that.

[1:04:58] Just straight data. And the reason why I was asking this is the point of

[1:05:02] clarification that goes with it [clears throat] since these schools are

[1:05:06] in not the immediate area but within the zip code being referenced. Did I look at

[1:05:12] the application correct for the projected

[1:05:16] fran the multiacampus franchise school and I saw that zero at risk students are

[1:05:23] anticipated. Correct. >> That that is correct.

[1:05:25] » Okay. So we're in the tens of thousands and I have zero.

[1:05:29] » Correct. >> That is correct. Okay. Um moving on from

[1:05:33] that roughly how many title one schools does WC1 have either by quantity or

[1:05:39] percentage? And if it's possible, please consider our district sponsor charters

[1:05:44] because my role here, I'll speak individually. I'll let my colleagues

[1:05:48] speak for themselves. My fiduciary responsibility is not just to the public

[1:05:53] schools that we have, but also the charter schools um whose charters we

[1:05:57] hold for them. So, if it would be possible to just get a rough number, we

[1:06:01] have about 115 schools, right? Give or take. And how many of those are title

[1:06:05] one? >> I'm trying to count on the page. Um it's

[1:06:09] two and a half pages worth of the numbers um

[1:06:14] off roughly we know there are four charters that are title and um I'm going

[1:06:22] » we'll work to get that >> we'll yeah we'll have to get that number

[1:06:24] for you >> exactly

[1:06:26] » okay >> one

[1:06:27] » but it's lots >> it's a lot it's lots like upwards of

[1:06:31] over 60ish of our schools it's a lot okay

[1:06:34] » great is Doral a title one school No.

[1:06:38] » Okay. Does this application project the new multiacampus franchise to be a title

[1:06:44] one school? >> No.

[1:06:45] » Okay. Is is this land located in an area that is surrounded by title one schools?

[1:06:51] » 100%. >> Okay. And I'm going to come back to that

[1:06:54] later because I think that there's there's a way to look at this regionally

[1:06:58] versus just zip code, but I'll come back to that. Thank you for that. Um,

[1:07:04] in the application, I just want to make sure that I have this correct. The

[1:07:08] combined student size is projected at, we'll say around 2700.

[1:07:13] Um, in the proposed system budgets, I think it's 6-2 in the application. Can

[1:07:21] you confirm that the Doral franchise would only employ one single reading

[1:07:27] interventionist for about 2700 students >> based on the application that they've

[1:07:33] submitted? That's correct. >> Excellent. And also with the student

[1:07:37] size of about 2700 students, can you confirm that there would only be one

[1:07:43] English language learner coordinator for the entire system

[1:07:47] » based on their application? Yes. The coordinator not necessarily a direct

[1:07:52] teacher. >> Correct. But that coordinator is only

[1:07:55] half their job because the other half of the English language learner coordinator

[1:07:59] is their community involvement coordinator. So it's kind of like a 0.5.

[1:08:03] Okay. >> Um another point of clarification here,

[1:08:08] what is the corporate revenue being generated by this new school system for

[1:08:13] Academica? Because I looked in the the numbers here

[1:08:18] and it looks like 1.24 24 million. That would be on page 6-2.

[1:08:29] Okay. >> Thank you.

[1:08:32] Um Okay. Um near to the end here. So, I was also very um interested in and this

[1:08:40] might be a phone a friend for our legislative representatives here. We've

[1:08:46] got about $600 million worth of taxpayerowned and funded WC1 projects in

[1:08:51] the immediate vicinity.

[1:08:57] This worries me quite a bit. Maybe this is more of a question for the

[1:09:02] superintendent with the money that we have committed

[1:09:06] for WC1, which are taxpayer assets. So, just as a little side note for anybody

[1:09:11] following along, um, Wo County School District schools are funded by taxpayer

[1:09:16] money. They're also owned by taxpayers, unlike charter schools, which are paid

[1:09:22] for with taxpayer dollars, but they're privately owned. And by the way, that's

[1:09:27] completely legal. That's exactly how the law is. Nobody's doing anything wrong

[1:09:30] with that. But what I see here is I look at the number of projects we have and

[1:09:37] the amount of money So, COO Cersi, considering the facil's modernization

[1:09:43] plan, if about 1,700 students were to come out of these schools, would we have

[1:09:50] to redo the facility's modernization plan or reconsider things like

[1:09:53] rebuilding Worster High School based on the enrollment numbers? Is that just is

[1:09:58] that even a possibility?

[1:10:03] So, as this board well knows, we annually re-evaluate the needs and

[1:10:09] priorities of our capital improvement plan. Uh, a material variable on the

[1:10:16] scale of a new high school in this vicinity, K12 school in this vicinity

[1:10:21] would most certainly warrant a re-evaluation of our uh distribution of

[1:10:27] investments. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. So I have

[1:10:31] a question. Does the state public charter school authority have the do

[1:10:36] they have the authority I know they are named the authority. Do they have the

[1:10:40] authority to destabilize over $600 million worth of taxpayer assets

[1:10:49] or do we not know? Okay.

[1:10:55] And if the school was approved um by the

[1:11:02] state public charter school authority and it would take about $17 million

[1:11:08] worth of state funding for it, would the school district be in danger of having

[1:11:15] to do a reduction in force or to lay anyone off? Is that a possibility?

[1:11:25] Um I will just say that a reduction in the number of students um would have a

[1:11:30] huge impact on the school district and our funding is really based on per pupil

[1:11:35] funding. So for every student that we are under anticipated um population size

[1:11:41] would have a significant financial impact.

[1:11:43] » Thank you. I appreciate that. Um just a couple more. Mr. President, this might

[1:11:48] be a question for our senior legal counsel or chief legal counsel. Is it

[1:11:53] legal for UNR to have a building built on university land that it would own

[1:12:00] that was actually funded by state K12 dollars?

[1:12:08] based on um our our research, it appears that it is legal under um man, I can't I

[1:12:15] don't have off the top of my head, but I can follow up with you on the the bill

[1:12:18] and the statute, but it does appear that it is a legal arrangement to have them

[1:12:22] build on there at least to the charter school.

[1:12:25] » Thank you for answering that. I think that's a real creative way for you and

[1:12:29] our to be able to build new buildings. Um, okay. This one's really important,

[1:12:34] and this is in reference to a lot of the completely well-meaning public comment

[1:12:39] we've gotten. Um, I am personally very sensitive to how concerned people are

[1:12:45] when they worry about what's going to happen to their school. And I don't want

[1:12:48] anything to happen to Dorell. They're a great school in South Reno. A lot of

[1:12:54] people go to school there. There's so much concern about regardless of what

[1:12:59] happens with this other campus, would anything affecting this new

[1:13:05] campus, would that would that negatively impact any of the students there? Would

[1:13:10] they not be able to go to Doral in South Reno? Would any of those students have

[1:13:16] to leave their school? Is there any negative impact to the students who are

[1:13:21] already attending the campus in South Reno?

[1:13:30] » Um, as far as we know, the South Campus would continue um to run as it does

[1:13:35] currently. >> Okay, that that's important to me. So, I

[1:13:38] really appreciate that. I don't want anybody to have to leave the schools

[1:13:41] that they're at. And then the last question I had is actually on page 18 of

[1:13:47] the application. Um here, let me pull that up because it's another legality

[1:13:53] question with it that I wasn't sure about.

[1:14:01] So it says that the school will utilize existing unrestricted capital reserves

[1:14:06] to support the construction of the campus expansion. These reserves were

[1:14:10] generated over time in part through the school's internal management of its

[1:14:15] before and after school enrichment programs during the past eight years. Is

[1:14:20] that legal for a school to effectively overcharge or like do they not have end

[1:14:25] fund balance rules like we do? Like is that legal for schools to be able to do

[1:14:31] that to save money over eight years for for capital funding? I I genuinely

[1:14:37] don't know. That's why I'm asking.

[1:14:43] I I don't have an answer for that as far as the legality and it gets into a

[1:14:48] accounting area region that I'd have to like [laughter]

[1:14:50] go talk to a CPA on to actually get a good answer on. But if that's something

[1:14:54] you would like a follow-up on, we can do that.

[1:14:56] » Um maybe for on the other side of public comment, but that caught my eye and I

[1:15:00] found that to be unusual, so that's why I was curious. Okay.

[1:15:03] » Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Trusty Smith. Uh, any other

[1:15:09] questions or clarifying questions for our staff? Trusty Weslike. Yes, ma'am.

[1:15:14] » Thank you, President Mayberry. So, being a fifth generation Neadan, I'm pretty

[1:15:19] familiar with this area and having as a young child grown up on a ranch um very

[1:15:25] familiar with uh the other ranches that are around surrounding um my family's

[1:15:32] ranch. Uh

[1:15:35] my recollection is the the land over on Pembrook

[1:15:41] was agricultural in nature and um grazing cattle, but it

[1:15:48] is technically marsh land. Do you know of any studies that

[1:15:54] have been done for the soil? um impact studies, uh compaction studies, things

[1:16:01] of that nature in that area because I'm thinking that cost uh could go up

[1:16:08] considerably if that hasn't been looked into.

[1:16:15] » So, there's no specific information included in the application regarding

[1:16:18] like what we would call um property due diligence. Um that's really proposed to

[1:16:24] take place throughout the rest of 2026. The property is noted in the application

[1:16:28] as being located within some degree of a sensitive flood plane area and other

[1:16:35] developments, most notably the Veterans Parkway had to go through extensive

[1:16:40] environmental clearances um and mitigative construction

[1:16:45] endeavors. Um so, well, we'll just leave it at that in terms of expanding on what

[1:16:52] might be required at this property. And that's why I kind of noted on one of

[1:16:56] these slides that you know uh approvals such as the Army Corps of Engineers,

[1:17:01] Trucker, Truckucky Meadows Regional Planning Agency and the Truckucky

[1:17:05] Meadows Regional, uh Flood Management Authority may also be approvals that are

[1:17:10] required, but it's unclear and they've stayed as much that due diligence is

[1:17:15] still impending in the coming months. >> Okay. Um thank you. Uh the the other

[1:17:22] thing is um the we have a very unique symbiotic

[1:17:31] relationship with our construction partners,

[1:17:35] uh contractors, electricians, welders, um all of those wonderful people that I

[1:17:43] kind of think that Wo County School District is one of their biggest

[1:17:48] supporters. ers for them to be employing a lot of individuals

[1:17:55] and WC1 with the taxpayers approval. We have

[1:17:59] this very delicate balanced ecosystem where our construction is in great

[1:18:08] health. We're able to build um beautiful new schools and support our families

[1:18:17] with that. I just would like it stated for the record um framed in how I'm

[1:18:23] putting this. It's more of a personal more of a personal how we take care of

[1:18:28] our people here in Wo County School District. Would that support be in

[1:18:35] jeopardy with taking away the funds from Wo

[1:18:40] County School District and the need for new schools and modernization?

[1:18:46] The money that we would be losing, would that affect that delicate ecosystem that

[1:18:52] we have with our construction industry?

[1:18:57] » I'll give this one a shot. uh appreciate the sentiment. Um as I mentioned

[1:19:03] previously, a project of this magnitude, especially one that's on been

[1:19:07] unanticipated in our recently approved uh fiscal and capital programs, would

[1:19:13] necessitate a re-evaluation of our resources and deployment of those

[1:19:19] resources. Precisely how that plays out would absolutely remain to be seen. I

[1:19:24] also want to uh take a little liberty with uh your comments and somewhat

[1:19:30] aligned with Vice President Woodley's comments before. These similar questions

[1:19:33] and comments have been uh posed to me recently and I want to emphasize that

[1:19:38] the county school district conducts all of our procurement that is hiring of

[1:19:44] professionals and hiring of construction partners with the utmost professionalism

[1:19:50] and takes that uh responsibility incredibly seriously. As someone who has

[1:19:57] administered these and sat across the table from successful and unsuccessful

[1:20:02] proposers of the highest quality, I want to state on the record how seriously I

[1:20:07] take that responsibility. Um, and furthermore, the vast majority

[1:20:12] of our construction contracts are by law awarded to the lowest responsive and

[1:20:18] responsible bidder, and we have zero discretion as to who or whom that those

[1:20:23] contracts are awarded to. Thank you,

[1:20:31] » Vice President Woodley. >> Thank you. I'm gonna follow up on uh uh

[1:20:34] my colleague um Trusty Westlake's question because I did um I recognize

[1:20:40] that area. I'm aware of that area. I've worked floods in that area. So, um I'm

[1:20:47] surprised that at the uh um projection of costs considering I know at one point

[1:20:54] we were trying to do uh soccer fields and that required hundreds of thousands

[1:20:58] of cubic yards just to raise a soccer field and that was in the hundreds of

[1:21:04] thousands of dollars. So, I'm I'm really surprised at it. Much lower. But um my

[1:21:09] question is um being the fact that this project would use funding from uh per

[1:21:17] pupil and it's also on uh university property. Would this project require

[1:21:23] prevailing wage?

[1:21:31] I think that's a complicated question that um many people at the state level

[1:21:36] are still asking. Uh I believe uh somewhere in the application it refers

[1:21:41] to uh a statement or a commitment um to adhere to the prevailing wage

[1:21:47] requirements, but speaking more as a a legal trigger. Um that is a a topic of

[1:21:53] ongoing discussion in terms of who actually the

[1:21:58] uh contracting entity is, if it is a public entity or whether it is not a

[1:22:04] public entity. despite the fact that future revenues are being received in

[1:22:09] the form of uh taxpayer dollars. So I can't answer that clearly but I

[1:22:14] acknowledge that is an uh ongoing question.

[1:22:19] » So my follow question >> my followup question to that is would

[1:22:24] that not have a significant um fiscal impact on any projection for

[1:22:29] construction?

[1:22:33] Look, when we talk about construction, uh, Vice President Woodley, you know

[1:22:37] better than most um just how complicated and how many variables there are to

[1:22:41] that. I think a honest and simplistic answer to your question is that it's not

[1:22:45] going to move the needle significantly. that uh the wages that are being

[1:22:49] commanded in uh our region for all manner of work are rather a function of

[1:22:56] supply and demand and that prevailing wage versus the actual uh cost of doing

[1:23:01] business is actually not that far apart. A far greater variable and therefore

[1:23:06] risk is the time and the miscellaneous variables of uh the terrain and things

[1:23:13] of that nature. So that's why I choose to characterize it as a general category

[1:23:18] of risk without really trying to specify which one is going to go which way etc.

[1:23:24] But with respect to prevailing wage it's my understanding having not you know

[1:23:28] contracted for work um as a as a contractor directly that um the the the

[1:23:35] wages and rates that are being commanded just in this industry in general are at

[1:23:39] or above prevailing wage rates in private and public work today.

[1:23:43] » Okay. Thank you so much and a great presentation. Amazing. Thank

[1:23:47] » Okay, I think uh Superintendent McMaster has uh some answers.

[1:23:51] » Yeah, I just have um one of the questions you had asked earlier. Trustee

[1:23:55] Smith, thank you for the opportunity to share. Um we did some calculations. It's

[1:23:59] 52 total um title one schools, both charter and non-charter in Wo County

[1:24:05] School District. So approximately just under half.

[1:24:10] » Justin Smith. >> Thank you. Um Mr. President. So, Vice

[1:24:13] President Woodley, I got the same question about this and um I'll just,

[1:24:17] you know, read this because I immediately went looking for this exact

[1:24:20] point. Um there's nothing in the application it proper that has any

[1:24:25] reference to prevailing wage but in the minutes of Doral's um meeting minutes

[1:24:32] from it looks like their July meeting um one of the members of their board um

[1:24:37] mentioned that a firm that they're talking to has experience with charter

[1:24:44] schools and prevailing wage. And then it goes on to say, however, that they

[1:24:48] emphasize that they have no predetermined preferred contractors and

[1:24:51] they're open to community connected firms. That was the only reference I

[1:24:55] could find in the entire application was just some minutes about they're talking

[1:25:00] to a few people and some of them have prevailing wage experience, but I didn't

[1:25:04] find anything else in the application that indicated one way or the other. And

[1:25:08] so I just wanted to anchor us back to the factual information in the packet.

[1:25:15] The question I have is, and I know there's been some discussion about the

[1:25:19] Worster Von Elementary vertical. I'm curious what what would suggest that

[1:25:27] that students would be pulled from that vertical, particularly given that

[1:25:31] charters don't provide bus service.

[1:25:38] So, at the opening and on the uh vicinity exhibit, everyone's oriented to

[1:25:44] the location of the proposed school. Um, technically that location is within the

[1:25:50] Vaughn and Worster enrollment zones as we understand them. Um and while I'm not

[1:25:57] going to speculate as to where the students uh who future students of this

[1:26:03] school might originate from uh nor do we have detailed information as to where

[1:26:08] the students who attend the current Dorado campus uh live and reside. Our

[1:26:14] experience at other magnet schools or nonzone schools such as AACT and Debbie

[1:26:20] Smith CTE Academy are that geographic proximity to the campus is the strongest

[1:26:27] predictor of intendance attendance concentration. So you know I mean

[1:26:32] logically uh speaking and also our experience has demonstrated that the

[1:26:38] closer you live to a school the more likely you are to attend it. That's

[1:26:42] about as deep as we can go on that. >> Okay, fair enough. Thank you, sir.

[1:26:45] Trusty Nichollet, >> thank you. I just want to ensure that

[1:26:48] there'll be discussion after public comment. I have no questions, but I have

[1:26:52] some salient points. >> And we'll uh

[1:26:55] » thank you >> process uh to to get there. Uh if there

[1:26:59] aren't any trusty Phoenix, please go ahead.

[1:27:02] » Yes. Uh just to make it quick there again. Uh uh great presentation, very

[1:27:06] detailed. Uh we all appreciate that. uh some good points about the need about

[1:27:12] the great deal of risk in the timeline and the financial impacts and the

[1:27:15] factual trends and in academics uh talked a lot about enrollment

[1:27:19] recruitment. So if we go to page 31 uh which is going to be Jennifer

[1:27:24] Vantress uh you know I just have one general specific question for the entire

[1:27:28] staff here or the staff here you know does the the staff believe based on the

[1:27:33] facts of what you have there Duro has provided enough detailed on recruitment

[1:27:37] transportation staffing and uh student supports to make those projected

[1:27:42] demographics changes realistic and again I'm sticking to the framework of uh you

[1:27:47] know the law the facts the data the risk the student impact any accountability.

[1:27:52] So, >> it's um thank you for the question. It's

[1:27:56] very vague uh as far as how there's no they just say that they're going to

[1:28:00] recruit. It could be they hand out flyers at the

[1:28:04] grocery store. Um we have no idea as to actual what their recruitment um will

[1:28:09] look like or how they will actually provide the services. So, uh there was

[1:28:14] no details at all. And then just for the legal sir uh just for legal sir uh on

[1:28:21] that there you know on that part that you had up there on your slide about the

[1:28:24] four of the five and that there a lot of that which just to clarify some of those

[1:28:30] weren't answered only one was right. Is that right?

[1:28:33] » Correct. Only one >> only only one was addressed directly in

[1:28:38] the application. The other four were not addressed. in that um amendment

[1:28:41] language. I don't know if you can go back to

[1:28:44] slide [laughter]

[1:28:48] 15ish.

[1:28:52] » And while he's doing that, I just wanted to make sure for clarification for point

[1:28:55] for clarification that it was only four of the five. It was only one that was

[1:29:00] » one. >> Yeah. So this is um yeah NAC38849

[1:29:04] that does have those five pieces for um what needs to be addressed when a

[1:29:10] charter school opens up another campus. >> Yeah, I have no more

[1:29:14] » and so sorry. Correct. Yeah. So only four or five four of those five are

[1:29:18] addressed in the application. >> Uh thank you for for answering all those

[1:29:21] things and president I have no more further questions.

[1:29:25] » Okay. Thank you. Anything else before we go to public comment? Outstanding. Um we

[1:29:31] will now uh move it to public comment. I want to remind our excuse me our

[1:29:35] commenters that uh public comments are limited to three minutes. They must

[1:29:38] pertain to the agenda item. Uh if you have comments that are not on topic they

[1:29:43] can be provided during the general public comment period at the end of the

[1:29:46] meeting. So with that we will open up public comment.

[1:29:51] » Robert Mson. >> Hello Mr. Mson.

[1:29:56] » Good afternoon President.

[1:30:02] Good afternoon, Superintendent McMaster. Good afternoon, President Mayberry. And

[1:30:07] good afternoon, trustees. My name is Robert Mson, and as most of you know,

[1:30:12] I've been a teacher here in Wo County as a public school teacher going on my 29th

[1:30:17] year. Most of us recognize the role that the district sponsored charter schools

[1:30:23] play in our community. Whether we're talking about ACE, Mariposa, or Coral

[1:30:29] Academy of Science, however, the Wo County, excuse me, the WO Education

[1:30:34] Association and Nevada State Education Association have long opposed for-profit

[1:30:40] charter schools such as Matter Academy and Dural Academy because of their

[1:30:45] connection to academia academica. While the schools themselves may be

[1:30:52] nonprofit, the out ofstate real estate development firms behind their

[1:30:57] facilities are forprofit businesses. They purchase land. They build schools

[1:31:03] knowing that they will have guaranteed tenants with taxpayer dollars funding

[1:31:08] their investments through rent payments that may continue for generations.

[1:31:14] The EMOs that manage these schools also operate for profit.

[1:31:20] So, while the school may be nonprofit, the infrastructure and management

[1:31:25] surrounding it are not. And that distinction matters when we're talking

[1:31:30] about public education dollars. Additionally, as our district continues

[1:31:35] to make major investments in infrastructure, building new schools,

[1:31:40] and remodeling or rebuilding older ones such as Worooster High School, the

[1:31:45] playing field isn't necessarily equal. The district pays prevailing wages on

[1:31:51] its construction contracts while these private investment firms have argued

[1:31:56] that they are not required to do so because they are private companies. And

[1:32:01] in fact, they are private companies that are for profit.

[1:32:06] That creates a different financial model and raises questions about where our

[1:32:11] taxpayers money ultimately goes. Changing the rules to allow these

[1:32:16] arrangements deserves careful consideration of the

[1:32:20] long-term consequences for our entire public school system. These investors

[1:32:25] may be immunable today. But what happens to rents and EMO costs if they

[1:32:30] eventually expand enough to gain significant market power?

[1:32:35] And if a nonprofit school becomes financially dependent on companies that

[1:32:40] develop and manage it, how realistic is it for the school to walk away if a

[1:32:44] conflict develops? Finally, we need to consider the students who will remain in

[1:32:50] our traditional public schools that are already inadequately funded and

[1:32:54] diverting the profits to out of state investors. Please oppose the rule

[1:32:58] changes and take a stand for public schools and the students and community

[1:33:02] you elected to represent. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir.

[1:33:07] » Angela or

[1:33:13] » Yeah. And and I just as a point of of reference, and again, I think I said

[1:33:17] this the last board meeting I I I shared is and I hate to be the guy bad guy, but

[1:33:20] I I can't have any clapping or any booing. So, this is a business meeting.

[1:33:25] You certainly can, you know, say some positive things to your um to those that

[1:33:30] you agree with, but please let's keep this civil and and no clapping. Miss or

[1:33:34] good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. Thank you for saying no

[1:33:39] booing before I got up here. Hello, President Mayberry,

[1:33:43] Superintendent McMaster and trustees. My name is Angela Orur. I worked in the

[1:33:48] district for 20 nearly 20 years and now I have the great honor of serving as the

[1:33:53] principal of Dal Academy, a public charter school. My children still attend

[1:33:58] two different Basho County schools. Um I'm here today because you're

[1:34:03] considering how to respond to our amendment and I understand that there's

[1:34:07] a lot to consider. I wanted to be here in person in case you had any questions

[1:34:11] that I could answer and because I respect the process.

[1:34:15] At the heart of this discussion, I think we're all in the same place. We want an

[1:34:19] excellent education for every child in this community.

[1:34:24] I know that sometimes people see this as a zero- sum game. That is, if one school

[1:34:31] wins, another losses. I don't see the world like that. I think a rising tide

[1:34:36] can lift all ships. I hope you'll at least entertain the

[1:34:41] possibility that this proposal could be a good thing for our community. Our

[1:34:45] affiliation with UNR is working to develop a laboratory school, a school

[1:34:50] that studies education. Um, researchers,

[1:34:55] they will be looking at how children learn. They'll be testing innovative

[1:34:58] practices, preparing future teachers, and bringing evidence-based practices

[1:35:02] into real classrooms. This is something worth doing. I've dreamed about a local

[1:35:08] laboratory school for more than a decade. I shared this dream while I

[1:35:11] worked in the district with many of my higherups who were excited for me to

[1:35:15] pursue the idea. I also shared it last year with

[1:35:19] Superintendent McMaster because I really believe that in following the research,

[1:35:23] studying what works, and learning from educators and schools that are moving

[1:35:27] the needle, we can make a big difference in education. I want to address a few

[1:35:31] concerns I've heard, not all of them. Quickly, if you look at the budget, I

[1:35:36] think you were referencing year one of a budget with half of the students and

[1:35:40] definitely not the budget for our entire two system campus. But also, I do not

[1:35:46] believe we will be taking down any Wo County school district schools.

[1:35:51] Our current students come from 26 zip codes and four different counties. We

[1:35:56] expect our school of choice to draw families from throughout the region that

[1:36:00] are specifically seeking this particular educational model. We are not the right

[1:36:05] fit for everybody. That's okay because Wo County has so many great options as

[1:36:09] well. We also anticipate hiring highly qualified teachers who are interested in

[1:36:14] teaching in this particular type of environment.

[1:36:17] There will not be a lack of jobs for great teachers. Our current campus has

[1:36:22] never experienced a recruitment or retention problem and we believe

[1:36:25] educators will be drawn to the opportunity to serve in a laboratory

[1:36:29] school environment. Finally, this venture was not conceived

[1:36:33] or funded by Academica Nevada and we are committed to using local developers and

[1:36:37] contractors and paying prevailing wages. >> Thank you very much.

[1:36:40] » Thank you. >> Thank you,

[1:36:44] » Janelle Mosul.

[1:36:49] Good afternoon, Miss Mucil. >> It's Mosul. Thank you.

[1:36:52] » Mosul. Thank you. >> Good afternoon.

[1:36:56] » Push the button. Thank you. Good afternoon, President Mayberry and

[1:37:00] members of the board. I am Janelle Mosul. I'm an instructional coach at

[1:37:04] Derell Academy of Northern Nevada. I'm here today speaking in support of our

[1:37:08] charter amendment and respectfully asking for the or that the input that

[1:37:12] this board provides to the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority be

[1:37:16] accurate, constructive, and centered on the educational merits of the proposal.

[1:37:22] I have had the opportunity to see the vision and planning behind this project

[1:37:25] firsthand. The proposed lab school is not simply an effort to open another

[1:37:30] school. It is an opportunity to build a meaningful educational partnership that

[1:37:35] connects K12 students, classroom teachers, future educators, and

[1:37:40] university faculty. A true lab school model can provide students with

[1:37:45] innovative learning opportunities while al also strengthening the preparation

[1:37:49] and continued development of teachers. It creates a setting where effective

[1:37:54] instructional practices can be developed, studied, refined, and shared.

[1:38:00] That kind of collaboration has the potential to benefit not only the

[1:38:03] students enrolled in the school, but the broader educational community in

[1:38:08] Northern Nevada. As a coach, I understand that meaningful educational

[1:38:12] innovation requires careful planning, accountability, collaboration, and a

[1:38:17] willingness to examine what truly improves outcomes for students. Those

[1:38:22] principles are at the heart of this proposal. I have also worked closely

[1:38:27] with Angela Our. I know her as a thoughtful, dedicated, and deeply

[1:38:31] student- centered educational leader. I've seen the seriousness with which she

[1:38:36] approaches this work and the care she gives to students, educators, and

[1:38:40] families. I recognize that the board has a responsibility to consider how this

[1:38:45] amendment may affect public ed education throughout our community. I simply ask

[1:38:50] that its input be based upon verified information, the substance of the

[1:38:55] proposal, and its potential educational value, not speculation, institutional

[1:39:00] competition or assumptions about the motives of the people involved. Northern

[1:39:05] Nevada students benefit when educational organizations are willing to

[1:39:09] collaborate, innovate, and create new pathways for learning. This proposal

[1:39:14] deserves to be evaluated fairly and on its merits. I respectfully ask the board

[1:39:19] to provide supportive input to the SPCSA regarding our charter amendment. Thank

[1:39:25] you for your time. >> Thank you.

[1:39:29] » Mario Fitzpatrick.

[1:39:41] » Good afternoon everyone. My name is Mario Fitzpatrick and I serve as vice

[1:39:44] president of the WO Education Association. I'm here today to speak

[1:39:49] about the proposed Dorado K12 school and UNR partnership. This proposed charter

[1:39:55] to be built in the hidden valley area has the potential to significantly

[1:39:58] impact the finances of the Wo County School District. At a minimum, full

[1:40:04] enrollment at this site would redirect at least 15 million out of Wo County.

[1:40:09] This would be a great greater deficit than what the district faced last year.

[1:40:13] And with uncertainty around the state of the economy and how that will impact

[1:40:17] school funding for the next bienium, we must not only be cautious but assertive

[1:40:22] to threats that will negatively impact the resources available to our schools

[1:40:26] and students. This follows a familiar path that I and other educators in the

[1:40:31] district have faced over the last 20 years. Do more with less. Dal's

[1:40:36] potential expansion comes at a time when we need to be investing more into public

[1:40:40] education, not less. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter about the

[1:40:46] importance of education. I think by far the most important bill in our whole

[1:40:50] code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other

[1:40:55] sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness.

[1:41:00] How are we able to guarantee the freedom and happiness of our students if we

[1:41:04] allow other organizations to directly divert money and resources away from our

[1:41:08] public schools? Another potential issue while on the surface of some may seem

[1:41:14] less significant is how these schools will be staffed. Angela or the current

[1:41:19] principal at DAL has a strong reputation of being an innovative thinker with high

[1:41:24] standards for both students and staff. I can personally attest to this because I

[1:41:29] had the opportunity to learn under her toutelage for well over 10 years and she

[1:41:33] has made me the teacher I became. Opening an additional school means that

[1:41:38] some of our best and brightest educators will be recruited to work at a new site

[1:41:42] with promises of innovation and less bureaucracy.

[1:41:47] Furthermore, the partnership with UNR to embed practicum and internship students

[1:41:51] will ensure a pipeline of future educators into the Route schools,

[1:41:55] leaving Wo County School District with a smaller pool of qualified individuals.

[1:42:00] However, we should also take this as an opportunity to be reflective and ask

[1:42:04] some tough questions. Why are schools such as Deral a threat to Washoe County

[1:42:09] School District? It is because we have failed to be innovative and aggressive

[1:42:13] in our approach to solving issues regarding student success. According to

[1:42:17] the Nevada Accountability Portal, 48% of our elementary students and 47% of our

[1:42:21] high school students are proficient. 43% are math proficient in elementary

[1:42:27] schools while only 31% of high schoolers are. Our own data tells us we must

[1:42:32] attain better results for the future of our students. There's a disconnect when

[1:42:36] we graduate 84% of our students, but less than half are proficient in reading

[1:42:40] and math. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Fispatrick.

[1:42:46] » Pat Hickey.

[1:42:50] » Good afternoon, Mr. Hickey. Thank you, uh, Chair Mayberry. Um, good afternoon,

[1:42:56] trustees and, uh, our new superintendent. My name is Pat Hickeyi.

[1:43:00] I'm a former assembly leader who supported bipartisan legislation that

[1:43:05] created charter schools in Carson City. I've served on the state board of

[1:43:09] education and currently I'm a Sunday columnist for the RGJ where I have

[1:43:14] consistently celebrated the accomplishments of both traditional Waro

[1:43:19] County school district schools along with public charter schools. I'm here

[1:43:24] today to speak in support of public charter schools and more specifically

[1:43:28] the opportunity for you in Warso County to pursue a stronger stronger

[1:43:33] partnership between the school district public charter schools the University of

[1:43:38] Nevada Reno and our community charter schools as you may know were originally

[1:43:43] started by teachers and union leaders who wanted to give public school

[1:43:47] educators more autonomy and flexibility than is often possible in traditionally

[1:43:54] structured schools. The purpose of charter schools was not to undermine

[1:43:58] public education. It was to create room for responsible experimentation

[1:44:04] to try promising in structural methods, school structures and curriculum models

[1:44:10] and then learn from the results. When an innovation works, it shouldn't remain

[1:44:15] isolated in any one place or school. Traditional public schools should be

[1:44:20] able to adopt, adapt, and benefit from successful practices. That is how

[1:44:25] charter schools can serve the larger public school system as partners in

[1:44:30] improving education, not merely as competitors. Waro County has an

[1:44:36] especially promising opportunity here. Dural Academyy's University Public

[1:44:41] School Community Lab School could become a working laboratory for educational

[1:44:47] improvements. It could give UNR faculty, graduate students, aspiring teachers,

[1:44:53] many who'd work in the district, district educators, charter educators,

[1:44:58] families, and community partners. a place to pilot next generation learning

[1:45:04] environments, curriculum models, and teacher development approaches and

[1:45:09] long-term research. Such a school will build on UNR's existing strengths.

[1:45:15] Public charter schools should not be viewed as a threat to traditional public

[1:45:20] education. They are part of public e education. Their success can be a

[1:45:25] success for Nevada's entire educational system. Most importantly, it could give

[1:45:32] more Nevada students, not just those in any one type of school, a better chance

[1:45:38] to succeed. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[1:45:41] » Thank you for coming.

[1:45:45] » Oh, thank you, >> Kim Beckus.

[1:45:53] » Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. I'm here to just present

[1:45:58] something that my daughter, who was not able to be here, would like for you to

[1:46:03] all consider.

[1:46:07] My name is Jessica Cunningham. I request your support for the establishment of a

[1:46:11] K through2 lab school by Dorell Academy of Northern Nevada. I spent nearly 20

[1:46:17] years in education, 16 years teaching high school, six in Wo County School

[1:46:23] District, and four years serving on the Dan's governing board. The expansion of

[1:46:28] the Dan model in collaboration with University of Nevada Reno will

[1:46:32] undoubtedly raise the educational standards in Northern Nevada. A lab

[1:46:36] school is an educational site that works in conjunction with the university to

[1:46:40] host educational research, teacher training, innovative instructional

[1:46:44] practices, and curriculum development. Dan is already a beacon of in-house

[1:46:49] professional growth, data-driven instruction, uncompromised high

[1:46:53] performance standards, and instructional ingenuity. I was priv privileged to

[1:46:58] spend two days engaging with Dal's teachers and administrators at their

[1:47:02] most recent professional development days. The collaborative culture of the

[1:47:08] staff demonstrates a spirit of inquiry, problem solving, and reflection that

[1:47:12] will partner seamlessly with the unique opportunities a lab school creates for

[1:47:16] teachers. Lab schools are altruistic in nature. Benefits extend beyond the

[1:47:20] school site, spread throughout the entire community. research, innovation,

[1:47:25] best practices will permeate the regional educational community as

[1:47:29] education educators at university will inevitably land in local schools, Washo

[1:47:35] County schools, private schools, and charter schools alike. As the university

[1:47:40] and Dan leadership already know, this is an opportunity to anchor precocious

[1:47:45] educators to our community and attract highly motivated teachers to our area.

[1:47:50] Additionally, this lab school offers pathways and connections to industry and

[1:47:54] higher education that will retain our most talented students. Students will

[1:47:59] leave the Dawn Lab School with two years of UNR credit and be connected to a

[1:48:04] mentor in the professional community. This is an exciting chance to keep

[1:48:08] cohorts of talent local. A true friend of education cannot in good faith faith

[1:48:15] oppose the expansion of an established high-erforming instructional and

[1:48:19] professional model. Dan consistently earns a five-star annual performance

[1:48:24] rating and their teachers are recognized nationally time and again. Nor can one

[1:48:28] object to extending research and innovation to professional educators. To

[1:48:33] do so appears disingenuous. Furthermore, the community demands the high

[1:48:38] performance standard of Dan's current campus as evidenced by the lengthy

[1:48:42] weight list of roughly 600 families. 693 for the 202526

[1:48:50] school year and five for uh the next. >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:48:56] » Thank you for your the opportunity to speak.

[1:49:00] » Thank you for coming. >> Speak in favor.

[1:49:04] Please enter into the record.

[1:49:13] » Good afternoon, Miss Colburn.

[1:49:18] » Good afternoon, President Mayberry and honorable board. I am here in solidarity

[1:49:23] with Wo Education Association representing both the Northern Nevada

[1:49:26] Central Labor Council and the Northern Nevada Building Trades Council. Um, we

[1:49:31] have also not seen anything on paper demonstrating that this is actually a

[1:49:35] prevailing wage project and we are always concerned about money being

[1:49:39] pulled away from our public education system. It is vitally important to us to

[1:49:43] protect WC1 and any work that goes on in this community building schools should

[1:49:49] be done under prevailing wage. So unless and until we see anything in writing

[1:49:53] guaranteeing that this is a prevailing wage project, we are in opposition to

[1:49:57] it. And uh broadly we are in opposition to it because we believe it would pull

[1:50:01] money away from WC1. Thank you. >> Thank you

[1:50:06] » Rebecca or I'm sorry Reena Spansel.

[1:50:16] » Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon members of the board.

[1:50:20] Good afternoon Superintendent McMaster. Good afternoon to everyone here in the

[1:50:24] gallery. My name is Reena Spansale and uh go Colts. I am a proud public

[1:50:30] educator at Worster High School. There have been many important things said

[1:50:34] today, important things said about the fiduciary responsibility of this

[1:50:38] governing body. Important things said about how this will impact our existing

[1:50:43] schools. And I'm here to speak to that. Like I said, I am a proud Wooster cult.

[1:50:47] I've been there for nine years now. And despite the fact that I have been

[1:50:51] courted by other uh institutions in this good district, I continue to stay at

[1:50:56] that school because we do important work. And I know that the district knows

[1:51:00] that and is in interested in continuing to invest in that work because back in

[1:51:05] June, you all decided to allocate money to rebuild, which is very necessary, our

[1:51:12] school. And so I am here to not only remind you that you have made that

[1:51:16] decision and remind you that your staff has said that there are significant

[1:51:22] impacts that could happen to uh our school and the other schools that feed

[1:51:27] us if uh this uh draw academy goes through. And I also want to remind you

[1:51:31] that we have good people doing good things that you have already paid for.

[1:51:37] This project has not already been paid for by Nevada tax dollars. Nevada

[1:51:42] taxpayers, but it would be and it's important to show our collective, our

[1:51:48] community that we are investing in their students, not investing in Academica,

[1:51:54] which is based out of Florida, not investing in

[1:51:59] the University of Nevada Reno, which is important, but is not a K12

[1:52:03] uh partner for us at this time. It does not educate our K12 students. And it is

[1:52:09] important to show our students that we are collectively interested in

[1:52:14] supporting them in where they're already at. Not in the vision, not in the dream,

[1:52:18] not in the lab, not in the experiment. Students are not experiments. They're

[1:52:23] living people in classrooms right now wondering if they get to go back to

[1:52:27] school tomorrow. And I ask that when you make your comments to the SPSA or SPCSA

[1:52:35] that you include the existing and real conditions that exist in our schools and

[1:52:39] that you consider what you have already decided as a governing body to invest in

[1:52:44] and that is the school I work for that is Fawn Middle School that is all those

[1:52:48] schools around that Hinn Valley zone that while we don't know students would

[1:52:53] be pulled away from those existing programs and existing schools as your

[1:52:59] staff said earlier uh we do know and we do have data that uh just the you know a

[1:53:05] new school popping up in a geographic area it means more likely that the

[1:53:08] people in that geographic area might choose to go to that school. Thank you

[1:53:12] for listening. Thank you for investing in what already exists.

[1:53:24] Kaylin Evans.

[1:53:34] » Hi, my name is Kaylin Evans, president of the Washoe Education Association, and

[1:53:38] I'm asking you right uh tonight to not support uh the expansion of DAL Academy.

[1:53:42] And first, I want to be very clear, this is not a criticism of the educators at

[1:53:46] DAL or other charter schools. They are passionate, hardworking educators who

[1:53:50] care deeply about their students, just like the educators um at our traditional

[1:53:54] public schools. My concern is about the students and the system that we're

[1:53:58] creating for them. I believe we're moving towards a two-tiered education

[1:54:03] system in Wo County. Look at Hidden Valley. It houses pivot serving some of

[1:54:07] our most severely behavioral impacted elementary students. It also provides

[1:54:11] strategies, deaf and heart of hearing programming, speech and language

[1:54:14] services, occupational therapy, resource services, psychology, and other

[1:54:19] intensive supports. Uh, Dorado says it intends to increase its special

[1:54:23] education population, and I hope it does. But let's be clear, providing

[1:54:26] resource services and operating programs like SIP, CLS, or Pivot are night and

[1:54:32] day in terms of staffing, resources, and intensity. So before supporting a new

[1:54:36] charter campus with 1,700 plus uh students, ask a simple question. Uh will

[1:54:42] this DAL provide those programs too? And ask about students with and what about

[1:54:47] um our students with significant persistent behavioral issues that aren't

[1:54:51] in special education? Will the school maintain the intensive interventions and

[1:54:55] alternative settings necessary to serve those students? We'll hear that charters

[1:54:58] legally have to serve students with disabilities and follow Nevada

[1:55:01] discipline laws, and that is true. But that's not the question. The question is

[1:55:06] whether they're actually serving the same students with the same level of

[1:55:09] need and then comparing the results as though these systems are operating under

[1:55:12] the same circumstances. They are not. Uh we're also being told that this is a

[1:55:17] laboratory school. And I love that concept. Charter schools were originally

[1:55:21] envisioned as places to innovate, test ideas, and share what works. But

[1:55:24] increasingly that is not what we're seeing. We're seeing parallel K12

[1:55:28] systems competing for students. And to quote one of the members on the Charter

[1:55:33] School Authority Board when they were uh appro uh approving um Matter Academy up

[1:55:39] north, he said, quote, "Let's go compete with them." And that was the exact quote

[1:55:43] of competing with the Wo County School District. So, the idea that this is

[1:55:47] somehow not a competition of some sorts, it's a disingenuous uh topic and it's

[1:55:51] also been said by charter school leaders across our state. Um, and then we can't

[1:55:55] ignore Academica. Dorado contact contracts with Academica Nevada, which

[1:56:00] is a for-profit educational management organization. DAL's own audited

[1:56:04] financial statements show public dollars going not only to Academica for

[1:56:08] management fees, but also companies sharing common ownership with Academica.

[1:56:12] Um, so this model expands, we should ask, are we expanding innovation for

[1:56:16] students or expanding the footprint of a private management company? Because

[1:56:21] ultimately this needs to be about kids. Um, thank you.

[1:56:27] » Thank you, President Evans. >> Jenny Damonte.

[1:56:38] » That's Dr. Damonte. >> You're welcome.

[1:56:43] » Good to see you. >> Hi everybody. Um, I'm Jenny Damonte. I'm

[1:56:48] here on behalf of many of my indivisible colleagues who

[1:56:53] are want to talk about this. But before I start, I just got to say this great

[1:56:58] presentation. Um, my daughter, who I've told you about, is the mother of a

[1:57:04] one-year-old and she's been watching online and she texted me to say, "Wow, I

[1:57:11] had no idea that of everything that the county

[1:57:16] school district offers." So, I'm Yay. Um, which brings me to uh my real point,

[1:57:25] which is there is no need for this school. None.

[1:57:30] You know, the school district, public school district offers everything

[1:57:34] anybody could need. And by anybody, I mean kids on free and reduced lunch,

[1:57:39] kids with behavior problems, kids with who are special ed, kids who are deaf,

[1:57:44] and so on and so on and so on. There's lots of opportunities for gifted

[1:57:49] children in our school district and elsewhere like Davidson Academy.

[1:57:57] Um, also there are stakeholders who are impacted negatively. There are parents

[1:58:03] and families who might see resources disappear if they're in the county

[1:58:08] school district. There's taxpayers. Oh, like me

[1:58:13] uh and the school district itself and what it can do for students.

[1:58:18] The enrollment for this school, the projection does not reflect the county

[1:58:24] at all. Um throughout my career I have supported

[1:58:30] charter schools. Um I've got written lots about it but I do not when tax

[1:58:36] dollars my tax dollars are going to line the pockets of corporate leaders.

[1:58:44] Horus man said traditional public schools are a public good. He is the

[1:58:49] father of the traditional public schools and um

[1:58:55] and I'm with him. I do not want to send my tax dollars to a private corporation,

[1:59:02] especially one out of state. And I do not want to

[1:59:09] I don't want to see my school district gutted so somebody else can get rich.

[1:59:16] Um, I'm I know and I'm sure Derell, we have a leadership a person on our

[1:59:21] leadership team who has kids at Derell and loves it. Great. Knock yourself out.

[1:59:27] We don't need to put a $17 million hole in our annual budget. Thanks.

[1:59:35] » Thank you, ma'am. John Epito,

[1:59:53] sorry, John Epilo. I find myself agreeing with Best Smith a lot these

[1:59:59] days. In addition, I've also noticed that I

[2:00:03] agree on many issues with three of the recent past WCSD board presidents. So,

[2:00:08] there's hope, Adam. In fact, it was Angie Taylor who brought the bill

[2:00:13] protective children suggested last session it was for the state to start

[2:00:18] deleting subjective and incriminating student data instead of storing it

[2:00:23] forever. The bill passed and was signed into law by the governor.

[2:00:28] Now we have to start working on the most massive student database ever created on

[2:00:32] US school students infinite campus. To learn more, go to protect nevada.org.

[2:00:38] Now on this issue, I make a living as a real estate broker. Plus, it's not

[2:00:42] nearly as frustrating as coming to these meetings. Slide 22. At first, I thought

[2:00:48] this was wrong, but I but it's not. The district would be spending between 65

[2:00:54] and 75 million dollars to build a building on someone else's land. And

[2:01:00] after they built the building, then they'd be leasing it back for $75,000 a

[2:01:05] year plus the 2% increases. They'd be leasing it for at least and

[2:01:11] and if they're late building it, they might lose it. And then they'd be

[2:01:16] leasing it for 20 years even though they built it. And then they might get three

[2:01:21] extensions, maybe up to 50 years. It doesn't say who who's um obligated for

[2:01:26] the extensions in the slide that was presented earlier by Adam. And then

[2:01:32] after the lease is up, they walk away from the building and UNR gets the

[2:01:36] building. Now, as a real estate broker, who would agree to that? This is

[2:01:40] ridiculous. And and and I do like charter schools, you know, we don't have

[2:01:44] as many choices up at the lake, but um this is a terrible plan for you guys.

[2:01:48] And I was here when um you guys sold the school in Incline to the TTD, the Tahoe

[2:01:56] Transportation District. And I remember the board president at the time said,

[2:02:01] "Well, we don't mind that we're selling it for less than market value." Because

[2:02:04] I brought that up because you guys sold it for a lot less than market value to

[2:02:07] TTD. Now TTD is turning around and selling it and they're going to make a

[2:02:11] bunch of money on it, by the way. So it it it's this is terrible. This is a

[2:02:16] terrible idea. I can't even believe you guys are thinking about doing this.

[2:02:20] Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr.

[2:02:24] » Eduardo Martinez. >> Yeah, I think to to to Trusty Smith's

[2:02:30] point, remember, we're this is not our real estate agreement,

[2:02:36] you know, we simply are here to take a position, provide input to the state

[2:02:42] public charter authority. Um, so this this isn't this isn't our deal. Does

[2:02:47] that help? Okay. Thank you. Um, welcome. >> Good afternoon everyone. Uh, my name uh

[2:02:55] trustees uh, Superintendent McMaster. My name is Eduardo Martinez. I'm here with

[2:03:00] Western Public Affairs on behalf of the Charter School Association of Nevada.

[2:03:04] and the association recognizes that the county school district has an

[2:03:08] opportunity to provide information and concerns for the public charter school

[2:03:12] authority to consider. We encourage any comments from the district to remain

[2:03:16] grounded in the factual record and focus on matters within its direct knowledge

[2:03:20] and experience. We are disappointed, however, that some advocacy

[2:03:25] organizations and their members have chosen to use this application to pit

[2:03:29] public schools and public educ educators against each other. After all, education

[2:03:34] is like lacrosse. It's a team sport. Charter schools are public schools, and

[2:03:38] this agreement toward an individual application should not be a broader

[2:03:42] fight among educators or different parts of the Nevada public education system.

[2:03:47] We believe this discussion should remain fair, fact-based, and reflect the full

[2:03:52] record to include the stakeholder engagement that previously occurred. As

[2:03:56] for our member schools who are part of the school district, we look forward to

[2:03:59] following up on Trusty Smith's comments on WC1,

[2:04:04] uh that funding, as you know, has been excluded for the uh district charter

[2:04:09] schools, and we look forward to continuing that conversation. Thank you.

[2:04:14] » Thank you, sir. Appreciate you coming. The board received emails from Joe

[2:04:18] Caluro, the Northern Nevada Labor Council, Joe

[2:04:23] Rice, Autumn Steagel, Katie Burquette, Sarah Adler, Jessica

[2:04:31] Cunningham, Simone Gardella, Megan Canela, a Wo County School District

[2:04:37] teacher, Janice Brown SA, Jamie Royce Gomes,

[2:04:44] Jennifer Tibbon, Margot Mott, Duke Stevens, Courtney

[2:04:50] Aoyo, Amber Hart, Amy Bell, Jules Powell, Lisa Larson, David Zavski,

[2:05:00] Ding Shang Lee, Jenny Hunt, Lee Metaf, and Griffin Peralta related to this

[2:05:07] item. >> Okay. Thank you, JJ. We've been uh at

[2:05:13] yes, just got a message. We've been at this for just over two

[2:05:18] hours. Uh we're going to take a very short break. Um so just bear with us.

[2:05:22] And when I say short, I'm really try to keep it about five minutes and then

[2:05:25] we'll come back and and uh we'll begin our deliberation. So thank you.

[2:15:00] Okay, everybody's quiet. So, that tells me

[2:15:07] uh is okay, we good? Okay. Um

[2:15:14] uh

[2:15:18] so, a couple things. We we'll bring it back to the board for discussion,

[2:15:22] deliberation. I know there's uh still a few questions, some uh comments folks

[2:15:26] want to make. Uh just want to kind of give my colleagues a sense of of where

[2:15:31] we are and the potential direction that we could move. Um I want to provide some

[2:15:37] of that context. So as trustees are aware, board policy 952 designates the

[2:15:42] board president as the official spokesperson for the board regarding

[2:15:45] actions taken in positions adopted by the board. So accordingly, should the

[2:15:48] board choose to provide input to Nevada State Public Charter School Authority,

[2:15:54] that input would then be transmitted through a letter from the board

[2:15:57] president reflecting that direction and the decisions of the board. Because the

[2:16:01] SPCSA has established a September 8th deadline, again, as I stated earlier,

[2:16:07] for receiving comments, there's not going to be sufficient enough time to

[2:16:10] draft the letter to be prepared and brought back to the board for review and

[2:16:14] approval prior to that deadline. So, I think it's really important that any

[2:16:18] action taken tonight clearly identifies the board's position and the specific

[2:16:22] issues uh the board wishes to have communicated to the SPCSA. My intent is

[2:16:28] not to in any way independently determine the content of the board

[2:16:32] submission. I'm not the I'm not the boss of this board. I'm simply uh your

[2:16:36] representative. Uh but rather to accurately convey the board's direction.

[2:16:41] Uh so any issues specifically identified and approved by the board tonight will

[2:16:45] be incorporated into a letter submitted to the SPCA. What I'd like us to

[2:16:49] consider and I uh again just giving you some context. I know there's uh some

[2:16:54] additional questions and followup and we'll get to that here momentarily. But

[2:16:58] uh so you know now uh in the interest of of of time and to be efficient, I'd like

[2:17:04] us to initially consider uh a motion to either support or oppose uh this

[2:17:11] project. And so once we can reach agreement uh on that matter, then we can

[2:17:16] kind of dive down into the details with what that input would look like in the

[2:17:20] letter. Does that make sense? Okay. >> We we are supporting the the letter that

[2:17:26] we submit. >> That's that would be the second piece.

[2:17:29] Yes. Yes.

[2:17:35] » Yeah. Yeah. >> Correct. Yes. Yeah. Does that make

[2:17:38] sense? >> No. So again, because I want to be

[2:17:42] clear, I I want us to take a position on if we're going to support or oppose the

[2:17:47] Dural Academy expansion. Based on that decision, the next piece

[2:17:54] will be defining that letter and the input and we will have a motion and a

[2:17:58] vote on that input as well. So two-step process. Does that make sense? Okay,

[2:18:04] good. All right. >> Go ahead, Trusty W.

[2:18:07] » I was going to make a motion. Well, uh, fair enough. But I do believe that there

[2:18:12] are some, if we can hold that dot, uh, I think there are some additional

[2:18:15] follow-up questions. Uh, I think Trusty Nicola, you had some that you wanted to

[2:18:20] uh, to convey. So, I'm going to give you the floor.

[2:18:23] » Thank you. And I I I'm believe that this will inform deeper thinking whether what

[2:18:30] we decide remains to be seen. Um, I think everyone by now knows that I

[2:18:38] support the right and responsibility of parents to choose for their families and

[2:18:44] that includes education. It's a right and a responsibility. What's troublesome

[2:18:50] to me about um this application

[2:18:57] is and it's been mentioned in public comment is that in slide six and slide

[2:19:04] 16 of the PowerPoint you reference sustainability and risk which I think

[2:19:10] are extremely um precarious in this particular

[2:19:15] situation. Um, I'm troubled by the fact that

[2:19:20] Academica, um, which is out of state, which is

[2:19:24] really neither here nor there because we deal with many companies that are out of

[2:19:28] state, but they don't have to file SEC uh,

[2:19:34] documents. They don't have to show balance sheets. I worked rigorously

[2:19:39] to find um balance sheets so that I could see

[2:19:44] about the health of the company academica. I'm not talking about dural

[2:19:50] now. I'm talking about academica. I could find nothing. My deeper dive

[2:19:55] showed that there is nothing for a person like me to find because they

[2:20:00] don't have to file any of the same documents

[2:20:05] that all 17 public school districts in Nevada

[2:20:10] have to file. So right there that is to me that unlevel playing field and that

[2:20:17] concerns me deeply. to continue. The reference in the good cause

[2:20:24] exemption document is about scaling enrollment. And I get

[2:20:30] the concept. What a beautiful and wonderful opportunity that is not

[2:20:36] available to Wo County School District. We cannot scale enrollment. I wish that

[2:20:43] we could tell parents, I'm sorry, our classrooms are full. By the way, there's

[2:20:47] laws about this. there's NRS that we have to file exemptions every year

[2:20:52] because we don't turn away students and that's the right thing to do. I

[2:20:58] wouldn't want to turn them away. So, we don't get to scale

[2:21:04] enrollment and that's very troublesome to me to be

[2:21:08] honest with you. It pisses me off because it's not right.

[2:21:14] Unlevel playing field. Finally, I will say that yes, Wo County

[2:21:20] School District, there's so many things that we want to do for our students, our

[2:21:23] families, our employees, every employee. And with $9,781

[2:21:31] per pupil, it does tie our hands. But every single day, 247, 365,

[2:21:39] our 8500 employees work their tails off to make

[2:21:44] great things happen. And it's working. It's working. We have so many options

[2:21:50] and so many opportunities. We have lab schools. We have teaching.

[2:21:55] We have research. We do research every day. Talked to a teacher just the other

[2:22:00] day in government about he he's doing action research. It's happening

[2:22:04] throughout our schools, all 104 of them. I love the idea. I've done teacher

[2:22:11] training. I went through fabulous teacher training programs. I am a

[2:22:16] dewist. This is not unique. This is not unique.

[2:22:22] It is an opportunity. I love a good opportunity. But the sustainability

[2:22:28] troubles me greatly because academica cannot show that they're good for 10,

[2:22:34] 20, 30, 40 years. So I have to say no. And and I want to leave us with that

[2:22:42] unlevel playing field concept. I'm I'm a lover of quotes and I know I'm a little

[2:22:47] passionate right now, but I think that's a good thing.

[2:22:51] A level playing field is where everyone has an equal chance to succeed by

[2:22:59] following the same rules. Imagine a football game where I get to

[2:23:06] have 20 players and you get to have five and I get to have three balls and my

[2:23:10] field's only 50 yards and yours is 100. This is what we're talking about. And I

[2:23:16] will close with this. I hate when we, the collective, we consider students,

[2:23:21] children, our most precious gift as assets. They are not assets.

[2:23:28] Yet, they represent a dollar that ties all of our hands. They are not assets.

[2:23:32] They're a beautiful future. And so, thank you for letting me have my tirade.

[2:23:37] I appreciate your time. >> Thank you, Trusty Nichollet. Appreciate

[2:23:41] it. Uh, Trusty Smith, >> thank you. And I appreciate Trustee

[2:23:45] Nichollet's words very much. Um, I have a brief clarifying question, just a

[2:23:50] couple, and then maybe we can move forward on a motion. There's so much

[2:23:54] talk about um supporting student teachers and and innovation. Maybe this

[2:23:59] is a question for the superintendent or perhaps one of the the chiefs that we

[2:24:03] have here. Does County School District partner with UNR's College of Education?

[2:24:12] Wash County School District has a long-standing partnership with the

[2:24:15] University of Nevada Reno. Um in fact, we do have a partnership um with the New

[2:24:21] Von Middle School opening up with the lab school classroom um that's right

[2:24:25] next door. We've been hosting student teachers for many years. Um we have

[2:24:30] practicum relationships where our students um come and learn very early on

[2:24:35] in their careers. So yes, we've been working in partnership with the college

[2:24:38] of education and I would say that that relationship continues to grow and

[2:24:42] improve every day. >> So the answer would be yes, we do work

[2:24:46] with UNR's College of Education and also yes, we have observation rooms that just

[2:24:52] opened an observation lab that studies highquality instruction at our schools.

[2:24:58] Would it also be yes that we work in partnership with UNR faculty on the

[2:25:03] development of education? Yes. Excellent. Uh, yes, we host and

[2:25:09] support student teachers from UNR. >> Yes.

[2:25:14] » And yes, we pilot curriculum for the state.

[2:25:17] » Yes. >> Yes. And yes. Um, would the answer be

[2:25:20] yes that we offer teacher training here in the county school district? Yes. And

[2:25:24] then would the answer be yes that we support research in partnership with UNR

[2:25:29] and other Nevada based institutions? Yes.

[2:25:31] » Excellent. Does you andR know that we do this with them?

[2:25:35] » Yes. >> Okay. Maybe we could make a one sheet

[2:25:38] for them so that they understand that as well too. I am deeply concerned about

[2:25:42] why they're confused about the research and labs that already exist. Um but that

[2:25:49] was my my point of clarification for that. Second one is um board president,

[2:25:53] this might be for you. Um, depending on the outcome of today's action, would you

[2:25:58] or a representative be able to also speak on behalf of the board, the

[2:26:03] district will take its position, but the next meeting would be at the state

[2:26:07] public charter school authority meeting. Would you be able to speak on our behalf

[2:26:12] in addition to whatever it is we support on a district level?

[2:26:16] » Sure. Uh um I certainly would be uh amendable to that uh if if if we land if

[2:26:22] if if I'm supportive of whatever comments that we provide. Sure.

[2:26:25] » I appreciate that. I know we can all speak individually as trustees and we

[2:26:28] don't need to do that. Um but only one representative can speak with the

[2:26:33] authority of the board and that's either the president or someone you designate.

[2:26:37] » Okay, those are the only clarifying questions I have and you know we can

[2:26:40] move forward with a motion or whatever the pleasure of the board is for the

[2:26:44] first part.

[2:26:49] Um, Mr. Dyer. >> Yeah, President Mayberry, I just had a

[2:26:53] couple of follow-ups for Trusty Smith. She had asked a couple questions I did

[2:26:56] not have answers for earlier. >> Just thank you.

[2:26:58] » Um, Trusty Smith, you had asked about can uh, Dur Academy use public funds to

[2:27:03] build uh, this building on UNR land. And uh, the statutory reference on that is

[2:27:08] SP 384 from 2013. It was codified as NRS 388A 378. And that does provide for the

[2:27:15] use of public funds for construction and quote to use the public money for

[2:27:20] purchase to purchase real real property or buildings with the approval of the

[2:27:24] sponsor. Um, and I believe that ties into your next question that you had

[2:27:28] about using unrestricted or unreserved funds for um, this building. And I

[2:27:33] believe the answer to that is yes, under that same framework. So long as there's

[2:27:37] approval of the sponsor and they have determined that it's, you know,

[2:27:40] responsible good use of the those funds. >> Yeah, I appreciate that clarification. I

[2:27:45] wonder if the parents whose money went to the before and after school care or

[2:27:49] their enrichment programs knew that savings were being swept into a future

[2:27:55] fund to buy a building for UNR. Um I would we'd have to go back and actually

[2:28:00] see what those materials were if they understood that when they were paying or

[2:28:04] the taxpayers were paying for that. I >> I cannot comment on that part. And uh

[2:28:08] second point I also wanted to note was um regarding prevailing wage. There is a

[2:28:12] component in the contract with UNR under article 8 which is attachment 8 page 21

[2:28:17] that says that they agree to use comply with prevailing wage laws for the

[2:28:21] development of the project. Just as you know another little piece I think that

[2:28:26] came up as discussion earlier. >> Thank you.

[2:28:29] » Thank you sir. Appreciate uh the due diligence and the followup. That's

[2:28:32] helpful. Trusty Westlake. Um, I I had a a question, but then I also I I was a

[2:28:41] witness when I went to introduce myself and meet the new principal at Sepulva

[2:28:47] Elementary School. Uh we had uh education students from UNR that were

[2:28:54] visiting that day and that they were opened with welcome arms just as any

[2:28:59] school we would welcome um student educators into our into our schools. So

[2:29:07] that's it's it's a given. We already have have that element built in through

[2:29:13] Van's lab and through our welcome welcoming nature for any education

[2:29:21] students to come in and observe or participate in our classroom. So that is

[2:29:27] not unique to this lab school that it's being touted as a lab school. Uh a

[2:29:35] question I have um [snorts] uh this uh public dollars are being

[2:29:42] redirected into a forprofit education model. Uh Deral does not have

[2:29:49] the academic model or hysteric histo I was going to say hysterical historical

[2:29:56] record of servicing at risk learners. Would that be a true or false statement?

[2:30:04] Based on the data that we have available to us, they uh no, they have a very

[2:30:10] limited or zero at risk school population.

[2:30:14] » And uh true or false or if you want to add something to it, but at risk

[2:30:20] students require a lot of supports, which they deserve.

[2:30:26] um a lot of supports and extra um extra services and does has Dural in the past

[2:30:37] supported and served these at risk students?

[2:30:40] » Uh I I can only speak to the one year where the data was available um that I

[2:30:45] that was reviewed at that time. No. Um remember for the state we do have

[2:30:51] special at risk funding that the state allocates to school districts to use to

[2:30:58] address the specific needs for our atrisisk learners which indicates that

[2:31:02] yes they do require above and beyond what a quote unquote typical learner um

[2:31:09] needs and I do want to remind everyone for the

[2:31:13] record that at risk students sometimes uh two, three

[2:31:21] special needs and we're only given funds for one weighted need per

[2:31:29] child. Even if they have two or three weighted needs, we are servicing and

[2:31:35] supporting sometimes more than just one weighted

[2:31:38] need that we are funded for. >> Correct. I mean, a student could be

[2:31:43] identified as at risk, could be identified as an EL learner, could be

[2:31:48] identified as a student with a disability. And each one of those

[2:31:51] weights, we don't get weights for all three. We only get a weight for one.

[2:31:56] » Thank you.

[2:31:59] » Okay. Thank you. >> Uh, trust.

[2:32:02] » Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. >> I was going to make a motion, but I'll

[2:32:06] » Yes. >> Oh,

[2:32:08] » I didn't see. Please, Kaylee. Um, I do have a question on why don't we like put

[2:32:14] funds into the existing schools rather than a new school? Whether it's

[2:32:18] expending expanding school buildings to make them bigger, having more counselors

[2:32:23] for to help students individually, more teachers to in schools to help the on

[2:32:29] the one-on-one in smaller classes or as well as funding for like the student

[2:32:35] teachers in every school.

[2:32:40] Somebody want to take that?

[2:32:46] » I'll try and I'll try and uh respond to that. I mean, it's a it's a great

[2:32:50] question, honestly, and I attempted to speak to it earlier when I talked about

[2:32:57] our long-term financial plans that we work so hard to establish and our

[2:33:01] long-term uh facility plans that we work so hard to establish based on historical

[2:33:07] patterns and projected revenue and, you know, enrollment needs. And we have made

[2:33:14] a number of decisions um based on our best thinking and a lot

[2:33:19] of hard work about where we anticipate investing our dollars for next fiscal

[2:33:24] year and where we anticipate investing our dollars into facilities for years to

[2:33:29] come, including in some instances the closure of some schools and

[2:33:34] consolidation of enrollment zones. That work is complicated and painstaking and

[2:33:40] the work that often comes before this board and this new proposed school uh

[2:33:47] would represent a major change or new variable that would inform that plan. So

[2:33:52] it would require some adjustments um that that we would all have to wrestle

[2:33:56] with. >> That's it. Thank you.

[2:33:59] » You bet. >> Okay, Trusty Smith.

[2:34:03] » All right, just a quick point of clarification. And the first motion

[2:34:06] should be for our board to take a position and then we would continue the

[2:34:10] meeting and talk about the areas of emphasis in the response.

[2:34:16] » Correct. I think it'd be a lot easier if if we came to a consensus on what

[2:34:20] direction we want to move forward on and then we can begin to talk about the

[2:34:26] input that we want to provide to the charter committee, the charter

[2:34:29] authority. >> Yeah.

[2:34:31] » All right. Then I will take a shot here. Oh. Oh, go ahead. No, no, no. You go.

[2:34:36] Yeah. >> All right. Because I just want to

[2:34:37] express my thoughts similar to uh my fellow trustees Wesley and uh Dr. Dye.

[2:34:45] So, I'm a title one student graduate. Aside from the fact that as stated

[2:34:52] earlier in the public comment, you know, this looks like a I think it's slide 22

[2:34:57] that breaks down the costs and um the investments that would be made on this

[2:35:03] property that they will never own. That looks like a reckless um financial

[2:35:09] decision or approach. Um which is easy to make if you're not

[2:35:14] making any personal investment. If I have the prop the abil if I have the

[2:35:19] ability to make these investments with someone else's money

[2:35:25] and lose it, possibly lose it and never gain anything out of it, I would I think

[2:35:28] I would take this as well. And that's what my concern is and that's

[2:35:34] why I feel the way I feel because first and foremost, if we're going to have any

[2:35:40] other schools in our district, I need them to have the exact same demographics

[2:35:46] that we have. I need them to have title one students. I need them to have free

[2:35:52] lunch students. I need them to match the service that we're providing. So unless

[2:35:57] you're doing that, you should not have access to our funds. But that's

[2:36:02] separate. Apart from that, I think that this is

[2:36:07] a bad deal overall and there's no way I could support something like this. So,

[2:36:13] just wanted to share that. Thank you, T. >> Okay. Thank you, um, Vice President

[2:36:19] Woodley. And we can certainly have a motion in a second, then we can have

[2:36:23] some further discussion before we take a final vote if you want to do that.

[2:36:28] » No, I just wanted to do that. same as uh Alex did there. And I just really wanted

[2:36:32] to I'll just sum it up real quick here. I heard the public comment and I

[2:36:36] appreciate uh again, you know, the what was said about uh innovative and finding

[2:36:40] ways to move forward with charter schools and the purpose of it. Uh but uh

[2:36:44] again looking at the law part of it there just on what was stated here,

[2:36:48] there was a lot of loopholes uh that was already stated. So I won't go into that.

[2:36:52] And then some of the facts that the team presented, you know, uh there was some

[2:36:56] pretty uh there were some questions that weren't unanswered there. And then the

[2:37:01] data uh again sticking to our institutional knowledge and the

[2:37:04] expertise that we have about the demographic and the financial

[2:37:07] projections raised uh before us today. So, you know, basically there's a lot of

[2:37:11] big questions there and then going into the risk uh you know the sign

[2:37:15] significant uncertainty of the the timeline being very aggressive and can

[2:37:19] you can you not to allude to a public comment that was made about is that a

[2:37:23] good deal or what real estate uh thinking. So uh that's uh where I really

[2:37:28] stand with that and also the student uh remain the concern about whether the

[2:37:33] expansion truly serves everyone you know and then is that the need uh there's a

[2:37:37] lot more that goes into it but again the accountability I want to be clear assure

[2:37:41] that governing board that you guys are taking on this deal and if you do you're

[2:37:45] doing everything right by the book and you're making a first time go and what

[2:37:49] that means militarily speaking that you're going to get expert on this and

[2:37:52] you've got it dialed in. There is no deviation. you're you're absolutely 100%

[2:37:58] uh correct and you get it straight the first time and I don't feel that you

[2:38:02] know I don't see that based on the the facts and the data and specifically the

[2:38:06] piece that I like about the law. Um so I just kind of wanted to sum that piece up

[2:38:10] there uh just in a nutshell. So thank you.

[2:38:15] » Thank you. Um, I will also add to that that as a trustee of this district, we

[2:38:23] talk a lot and we have spoken a lot about our traditional public schools,

[2:38:27] but we have also heard loud and clear from the local grassroots nonprofit

[2:38:32] charters that this directly threatens them and their taxpayer investments,

[2:38:37] too. This very board recently approved Mariposa Language and Learning Academy,

[2:38:43] which is a title one school. educating 100% free and reduced lunch

[2:38:48] students and they just spent millions of taxpayer dollars to expand their school

[2:38:53] with a full and unanimous vote of this board by the way. And so my position on

[2:38:59] this is absolutely student focused, making sure that every child has an

[2:39:04] opportunity to learn in the best environment and we have those

[2:39:08] environments here within our own district and within our district

[2:39:11] sponsored charters. And so I do want to acknowledge the um incredible response

[2:39:17] from local grassroots charters that this would undermine and endanger their own

[2:39:23] schools too. So I really want to be very clear that this is not being framed uh

[2:39:28] from a public district with charters because our local nonprofit charters uh

[2:39:33] stand against this application as well. So, on that note, um I will go ahead and

[2:39:40] um make a shot at a first motion and we'll see where we go with that. I move

[2:39:45] that the board of trustees directs the superintendent to submit a formal

[2:39:49] position of opposition in response to the state public charter school

[2:39:54] authority request regarding the amendment application by the UNR DORAL

[2:39:59] Academy of Northern Nevada corporate charter school franchise

[2:40:06] » and I'll second that. >> Okay, we have clarifying question from

[2:40:10] the superintendent. Um, yes. I just want to clarify um did we intend to have the

[2:40:16] letter come from the superintendent or from the board of trustees and um

[2:40:21] written by the president on behalf of the board?

[2:40:25] » Well, that's a good thing. I I thought we were giving direction to you on what

[2:40:29] staff is going to put together for the response. Um,

[2:40:34] so I would assume that whatever position we take would everything else would be

[2:40:39] born from that position,

[2:40:44] but I'm more than happy to make an adjustment to that because we're not

[2:40:47] just deciding as a board, aren't we also directing you and staff for what we're

[2:40:52] going to submit? >> My understanding, and I'll I'll lead to

[2:40:55] to general counsel on this, is we're we're collectively deciding as a board.

[2:40:59] And then the second piece of this will be what that letter looks like. And so

[2:41:03] it it technically is the board, not the superintendent.

[2:41:07] Is am I correct with that? >> Yes. Um so it would come from the board.

[2:41:13] Um so all of the vote in the letter would come from the board if if the

[2:41:19] board gives direction for staff to assist with that. I don't think that

[2:41:23] goes beyond the scope of the agenda item. But I but I do believe the the

[2:41:27] agenda item is for the board to uh for this to come from board input to the

[2:41:32] SPCSA. Okay. So, if I were to make a friendly,

[2:41:37] would I say that I move that the board of trustees takes a formal position of

[2:41:42] opposition in response to the state public charter school authority request

[2:41:48] regarding the amendment application by the UNR DO Academy of Northern Nevada

[2:41:54] corporate charter school franchise.

[2:42:00] » Sure. I'm sending it to JJ, too, so she has it. I move that the board of

[2:42:04] trustees takes the formal position of opposition in response to the state

[2:42:10] public charter school authority request regarding the amendment application by

[2:42:16] the UNR DORAL Academy of Northern Nevada corporate charter school franchise

[2:42:24] » and I'll second that.

[2:42:29] » Okay. Outstanding. Thank you. We got a first uh a motion by Trusty Smith,

[2:42:33] second by um Trusty Phoenix. I uh some more discussion. I do want to just chime

[2:42:40] in too. I haven't had uh that opportunity yet. Um

[2:42:44] I I will just say that, you know, in in my five year and I took some notes so I

[2:42:49] I don't get sidetracked. So, forgive me if I'm looking down on my screen. But in

[2:42:52] my five years on this board, you know, this the public school charter school

[2:42:56] tugof-war is it's really been uncomfortable for me personally. I know

[2:43:01] the value of both and the debate has become so polarized to the point where I

[2:43:06] think it's almost seemingly there's no there's no compromise to it. I I want to

[2:43:10] begin by acknowledging something I think is important and that's high performing

[2:43:13] charter school proposal. Uh, I recognize the work that's been gone gone into

[2:43:18] developing the school and the educational opportunities that it would

[2:43:20] provide our students. And I I don't believe that we should dismiss the

[2:43:23] proposal simply because it is a charter school. But I also have to approach this

[2:43:27] decision from a perspective of responsibility as a trustee of the

[2:43:31] county school district. And the reality is that the overwhelming majority of our

[2:43:35] students [snorts] in this community will continue to attend our traditional

[2:43:38] public schools. That means our responsibility is to protect the

[2:43:41] strength, the stability, the long-term viability of the public school system

[2:43:44] that serves the vast majority of children in this community. I think if

[2:43:48] we were not facing very real financial challenges on the horizon, I think the

[2:43:52] conversation could be different. I think the fact is that we have critical needs

[2:43:56] in our schools from staffing and student services to maintaining our buildings

[2:43:59] and providing the programs our students deserve. And at a time when enrollment

[2:44:03] is declining regionally and nationally, adding another charter school means

[2:44:08] additional public resources being directed outside the district at a time

[2:44:11] when those resources are already stretched. So I I want to be honest with

[2:44:15] this issue. Uh we have a charter schools. We have our own charter schools

[2:44:19] that we sponsor. Some of those schools are not performing

[2:44:23] at the level that we expect. We have an obligation to look in the mirror and ask

[2:44:27] ourselves why that is happening. And we cannot stand here and argue that every

[2:44:31] character or that every charter school rather is a threat to public education

[2:44:35] while ignoring the challenges within the charter schools that we ourselves

[2:44:38] sponsor. I think that's an important part of this conversation for me and for

[2:44:43] another time. But this isn't about whether charter schools are can be good

[2:44:46] schools. They absolutely can be. This is about whether creating another charter

[2:44:49] school is in the best interest of the entire public education system that we

[2:44:53] are responsible for governing as a body. So as a trustee, my first obligation is

[2:44:58] to the students, families, the staff of the Washoe County School District have

[2:45:02] to consider not only the students who may benefit from this particular school,

[2:45:05] but also the tens of thousands of students who remain in our district

[2:45:08] schools and depend upon us to provide them with a high quality education. I

[2:45:12] respect the people behind this proposal deeply. I respect the performance of

[2:45:16] this particular charter, but respecting a proposal and supporting it are two

[2:45:20] different things. So I believe we can support educational choice while also

[2:45:23] recognizing that public resources are finite. And when these resources are

[2:45:27] finite, I believe our responsibility is to make sure the system serving the

[2:45:30] greatest number of children remain strong, financially sustainable, and

[2:45:34] capable of meeting the needs of every student who walks through our doors. So

[2:45:37] for those reasons, I um I'll be supporting the motion. Thank you. All

[2:45:43] right. Any other further comments, discussions? All in favor? We have a

[2:45:47] motion from Trusty Smith, second from Trusty Phoenix. So all the a motion

[2:45:50] please signify by saying I in favor. >> All oppose. Okay. Motion carries

[2:45:54] unanimously. Thank you. >> Okay. So now we'll go to part two of

[2:45:59] this and uh we have an opportunity to provide input to the SPC

[2:46:05] SA. Uh and that hearing is the deadline is September 8th and a hearing is

[2:46:13] October is October 8th. Thank you.

[2:46:17] Um so now that we collectively agree to

[2:46:20] oppose uh entertain some discussion on what

[2:46:25] those uh those public inputs um will be for us.

[2:46:31] » Okay. >> Uh Mr. President, if I'll start off I'll

[2:46:33] just point out one >> um

[2:46:36] » only because I used to write a lot of these types of uh staff reports. So I

[2:46:40] think first and foremost I would like to see us identify any which we have

[2:46:45] already identified staff has violations of NAC in the process. So anything that

[2:46:51] they were required to do that they haven't done that should be first and

[2:46:54] foremost in our letter to the board. >> Thank you. Thank you. Okay. They need to

[2:47:01] follow their own rules.

[2:47:07] » Trusty Smith. >> Thank you. Um, so I have read through

[2:47:12] this like no less than five times and I, you know me well enough to know that I'm

[2:47:17] not playing. Um, so I have a few areas that I would like us to please focus on

[2:47:26] uh that were also missing from the staff presentation. So first I want to say

[2:47:30] everything you had in the staff presentation I think is really

[2:47:33] important. I'd like to see all that carried forward, but there were a few

[2:47:37] areas that we didn't really answer some of the points of the application and

[2:47:43] that is around the star ratings and the real academic area overview of this

[2:47:49] school. Okay? because this is an area where very reasonably the state public

[2:47:54] charter school authority will read the application and go oh you know there are

[2:47:58] all these one and two star schools and so we know that there are only certain

[2:48:02] rules where charter schools are allowed to open.

[2:48:06] So in the vein of that we absolutely need to address the fact that there are

[2:48:12] no underserved students in the Reno community. That statement is made

[2:48:16] multiple times in the application and it is not correct uh whatsoever. Our

[2:48:22] educators do provide and meet every need as we are you know that's the whole

[2:48:26] point of you know FAPE you know. So [clears throat]

[2:48:30] this is where I think we need to really focus in the response and that's the

[2:48:35] star rating weaponization. So, we'll look at Hidden Valley Elementary School,

[2:48:40] which one of our commenters mentioned the same thing, and I I knew I was going

[2:48:44] to bring this up as well. So, this school is only allowed in this

[2:48:48] particular plot of land because it's right down the street from Hidden

[2:48:51] Valley. And I mean, literally right down one street. It's about a mile away, less

[2:48:56] than a mile to Hidden Valley Elementary School. And Hidden Valley Elementary

[2:48:59] School is a twostar school, but it's only a twostar school because it has

[2:49:05] several intensive special education and behavioral programs there. And those um

[2:49:10] those students are integrated with general education students, which is

[2:49:14] what we're supposed to do. And this is how star ratings get weaponized. Uh so I

[2:49:20] would point out that yes, Hidden Valley is a two-star school, but here's why.

[2:49:26] Because if we didn't have those intensive programs there, I mean, it

[2:49:29] would conceivably be a three or a four-star school. And this proposed

[2:49:34] franchise school won't even have any of those programs. So, Hidden Valley

[2:49:38] specifically serves a population of 25% special education and 15% English

[2:49:45] language learners. That's based on the most recent Nevada academic framework.

[2:49:49] And I think we should point out that this school by its own admission is not

[2:49:54] educating these kids. But yet the placement for this school is allowed

[2:50:00] because Hidden Valley is a twoar school. And I think that's something we really

[2:50:04] need to look at. And then we need to pull it out more broadly. The

[2:50:08] application references the 89520 zip code which is um I think intentionally

[2:50:14] misleading when you look at where 89502 actually goes on a map.

[2:50:19] this school location is on the the edge of it. It's very very close to 89521,

[2:50:24] which I'll get to in a minute. Um, so it pulls from this area again as

[2:50:30] justification, but I believe this application is disqualified

[2:50:35] when you look at the real radius of this school. This is really important, folks.

[2:50:40] And in the staff presentation, we didn't talk about star ratings, but the state

[2:50:44] public charter school authority must deny if it does not have reasonable

[2:50:49] educational environments around it. Here's why this is so important. This

[2:50:54] school is literally down the road from the original, the first hopefully only

[2:51:01] Doral Academy that's there in South Reno. It's literally the exact same road

[2:51:05] that goes straight there. in this land is two miles away from 89521.

[2:51:12] So if we look at 89502 and as far as that zone goes from this school and we

[2:51:18] were to do a full radius that is really what we need to explain

[2:51:22] to the state public charter school authority because what they will see in

[2:51:26] our response is two things. One, this school is asking to open in school year

[2:51:32] 2028. So our response should include all the schools in that full radius and how

[2:51:38] many of our schools are closing. So remember we're in our last year of

[2:51:43] service for Dodson, that's a twostar school. Corbett, that's a one-star

[2:51:47] school. And Veterans, that's a one-star school. We're closing those schools. So

[2:51:50] the state public charter school authority should know that and we should

[2:51:54] reflect what schools we'll have in 2028 and shortly thereafter. And then we also

[2:52:00] need to actually include the star ratings um and the performance of our

[2:52:05] district sponsored charters. We've got Ace High School and 89502 Coral Academy

[2:52:10] High School, four and five star schools. But the real goal with this is and I

[2:52:16] think disqualifies the application is that this proposed school is only like I

[2:52:21] said two miles away right down one road to 89521.

[2:52:26] It is the closest area to the highest concentration of top starrated schools

[2:52:32] in the entire state which is South Reno. So when you actually look at a map the

[2:52:38] application claims that the second campus is centrally located. It is no

[2:52:42] such thing. It is literally directly down the street from the original

[2:52:46] location. Um it's right on the edge there. what it is in the radius of is in

[2:52:52] seven fivestar schools, two fourstar schools, three um three star schools um

[2:52:58] including a five-star high school. The reason why this is important is that if

[2:53:02] our response fails to acknowledge the star ratings of the whole area and take

[2:53:07] into account the schools that are closing, we're missing an opportunity to

[2:53:11] directly respond to why charters are allowed to be established. And this area

[2:53:17] is absolutely not an underperforming area under any shape or size or

[2:53:22] anything. And I think that that's something that needs to be included.

[2:53:27] Um, staying on with the location, we've got the members of the state public

[2:53:32] charter school authority. I don't expect them all to know Reno like the back of

[2:53:35] their hand. I would include an actual map that puts little stars on the

[2:53:41] original door and then the proposed second franchise location so that they

[2:53:46] can actually see how close they are and then they can actually see all the star

[2:53:51] ratings because that's really where we're we're pulling from is from that

[2:53:55] top performing area that we have here because I think that that would help

[2:53:59] them understand that it's not centrally located.

[2:54:04] And um continuing on here, this is something that I submitted for

[2:54:09] supplemental materials and it's the non-compliance disqualification.

[2:54:15] So on slide five of our presentation, it says very plainly that you that the

[2:54:22] state public charter school authority needs to must actually deny an

[2:54:28] application if it is not it fails to meet any of its performance frameworks.

[2:54:34] uh with academics, finances or organization.

[2:54:38] And last week, the audit committee, the um state audit division released

[2:54:46] probably one of the most stunning reports I have ever read, and I included

[2:54:52] it for supplemental materials. This procurement report had some real

[2:54:59] doozies in it about what's happening with for-profit emos and the state

[2:55:03] public charter school authority and I'll just read some of those because I think

[2:55:07] we should mention that. So I will mention that the state public charter

[2:55:11] school authority isn't revealing who these EMOs are but I do believe that we

[2:55:16] should in our response ask that they deny this on the basis of finances and

[2:55:21] organization. uh because there are clearly some some

[2:55:26] really questionable practices and if the identities of these EMOs were known that

[2:55:32] could be a reason for denial. And so I'll just mention a couple of

[2:55:37] those so that everyone can be somewhat aware of this.

[2:55:42] So, of all the charter school contracts that the auditors looked at, every

[2:55:47] single one of them um had major issues with the EMOs that they were contracted

[2:55:52] with. Um and it does say that the SPCSA as part of its organizational framework

[2:55:59] um is supposed to oversee this although they have the charter authority has no

[2:56:03] procedures in place to ensure contract provisions. They're not even looking at

[2:56:07] these contracts. The charter school authority went on to admit, this is on

[2:56:12] page 33, that draft EMO contracts undergo review by SPCSA at the time of

[2:56:19] the initial charter school application process. However, this process was

[2:56:24] absent of legal review and approval. What are you even reviewing? I mean,

[2:56:29] this is some serious impropriy. But the point of it is is you can't deny this

[2:56:35] because they're hiding the identities of these EMOs. So, here's a few of those

[2:56:39] things that these hidden EMOs without names have done. Um, one of the EMOs

[2:56:45] swept the state education funds to a bank account in Arizona controlled by

[2:56:51] the EMO. And further, none of the school's governing board members were

[2:56:55] authorized signers. That's not legal. Um, additionally, um, there was a lack

[2:57:02] of enforcement from the charter school authority. I mean, it's throughout the

[2:57:05] entire report. Um, all five of the financial reports reviewed by the state

[2:57:10] auditors um said that the EMO's management fees did not align with with

[2:57:15] each school's expenditure report as required by statutes and regulations.

[2:57:20] That would fall under the denial that we have here.

[2:57:25] And oh, um, one of the charter schools was paying its EMO $184,000

[2:57:33] without any invoices. just gave them $184,000

[2:57:38] with no invoices whatsoever, was just paying them that. Um, another um, EMO

[2:57:44] sent its executives and school personnel on a cruise for $20,000,

[2:57:50] which I thought was really interesting. Um, not definitely not okay. So the

[2:57:56] reason why I point this out and then I have it is that I would like our

[2:57:59] response to show that it is no fault of our own that we don't know what these

[2:58:04] what these emos are that have engaged in this malfence. But if any of them are

[2:58:09] academica that would be a must deny. And um the third thing that I'll mention

[2:58:17] that I'd like to see in the response is the work that's already happening with

[2:58:21] the UNR College of Education. We're doing all of these things. Uh we

[2:58:27] have amazing choice. Our district sponsored charters have amazing choice.

[2:58:32] All of our current charters in the entire area have amazing choice. We're

[2:58:38] already supporting student teaching. We're already doing this work. And I

[2:58:42] think that that needs to be really really clear exactly all the options and

[2:58:46] the support that we have for students. Not just for student teachers who are

[2:58:50] students that are adults. Um and then also for our children as well because

[2:58:54] this response must be rooted with a student centered focus. We absolutely

[2:59:00] must talk about our kids, the options that they have, the support that they

[2:59:04] have, school of choice, all of those things that we have to make it

[2:59:09] abundantly clear that there is nothing in this application or educational model

[2:59:14] that our multitude of educational ecosystem schools offer, which is not

[2:59:19] just the Wo County School District. It's district sponsored charters, it's state

[2:59:23] public charters, all of which receive public funds. And so I think that that

[2:59:27] really needs to be emphasized and that's on top of everything else that you have

[2:59:30] in the application. Um, thank you for giving me that time, Mr. President.

[2:59:37] » Sure. Would you like to sum summarize that in 30 seconds?

[2:59:42] » Um, thank you, Trusty Smith, Trusty Westlake.

[2:59:45] » Thank you, President Mayberry. I think it's really important

[2:59:50] that we um that it absolutely is going to affect

[2:59:56] stakeholders that there is I mean from families

[3:00:02] uh to our construction. It is going to literally disrupt, like I

[3:00:10] said before, the whole ecosystem that we have here in Nevada. And we are

[3:00:16] flatlining on um on sales tax.

[3:00:22] Doing this is going to create um a huge hardship. Things that we haven't even

[3:00:29] really looked at. We are being fiscally responsible by reducing our footprint.

[3:00:36] If there are schools that are not supporting

[3:00:42] enough number of students to remain open, we are doing the fiscally

[3:00:48] responsible thing of closing those schools and moving those kids to a next

[3:00:53] closer area. It's it's hard. It breaks my heart. One of one of the schools was

[3:00:59] in my district, Little Kate Smith. It was heartbreaking.

[3:01:03] Um, but we we are making those decisions in order to do the right thing for our

[3:01:11] state. Now, we have a company coming in from Florida,

[3:01:17] coming in as a franchise and using students as a way to make money and take

[3:01:24] the money out of our state. This is going to absolutely affect that we are

[3:01:29] going to have to close schools. I mean to think otherwise is being delusional.

[3:01:35] There's there's only so many kids. It's not like all of a sudden all these kids

[3:01:41] are going to flood in and there's there's enough for everybody. And we're

[3:01:45] servicing all of the children. But in closing these schools, we are also going

[3:01:50] to have to take on the hardship of getting those children that no longer

[3:01:55] have a school that they can afford or that meets their needs, their special

[3:01:59] needs. We are going to need to bust them to a school farther away in order to get

[3:02:07] them to a public school because not all are halves. There's a lot of have nots

[3:02:14] and it has to be stated we because we're required

[3:02:19] to provide a public education and if that means then more buses, more gas,

[3:02:27] more expenditures, then we are going to do that. We will meet those children's

[3:02:31] needs. But is it feasible that we can? I I just don't know. I don't know because

[3:02:38] everyone is stretched so thin. Another thing that I forgot to bring up earlier

[3:02:42] is we are also going above and beyond. We have our own policing organization to

[3:02:50] protect our children and to protect the neighborhoods around our schools.

[3:02:56] Dural does not. They're going to rely on Wo County for that large body.

[3:03:02] Seven up to maybe 1700 of students. I know we haveus with organizations and we

[3:03:09] rely and help each other. We also help Reno PD and Sparks PD and Wo County, but

[3:03:15] we are going above and beyond to ensure that our students are safe and our

[3:03:22] [snorts] neighborhoods are safe and we foot the bill for that. We do. We're

[3:03:27] we're not taking more money away from a state that is already stretched thin.

[3:03:33] Thank you. Uh, thank you, Trusty West. Trusty

[3:03:36] Nicllet. >> Yes, I I can be brief on this. Um, as

[3:03:40] far as the letter, um, if appropriate and and I know legal needs to chime in.

[3:03:46] All a bunch of experts need to chime in, but I I would like it to to reflect that

[3:03:52] Academica um, we can't see their financials and

[3:03:56] and I think that that's extremely important when public dollars are being

[3:04:01] put into whatever coffer. I'm not even going to try and identify where it goes.

[3:04:06] I don't know because I can't see that. And I would like to be able to see where

[3:04:10] our public dollars are going. The second thing that that I really would like to

[3:04:22] to trust Smith's I'd like to us to expand on the fact that we are already

[3:04:28] doing what Derell's expansion and that's a

[3:04:34] lovely idea is doing and much much more. our community partners.

[3:04:41] I I think they would want us to to shore them up and and illuminate the fact that

[3:04:48] we do so much with them for our students. And then finally, um I think

[3:04:54] that I would personally like and and I don't know, it'll fall on deaf ears. I'm

[3:05:00] not sure, but maybe our legislators and our Nevada State Board of Education will

[3:05:06] really look at this. But this unlevel playing field, this ability to scale

[3:05:12] enrollment is I'm not an attorney, but I'm going to

[3:05:17] use the word, forgive me, uh, Council of Montalbo. Um, I think it should be

[3:05:23] illegal. That is that is simply not how things should go down for students. And

[3:05:29] there's my two cents. Thank you, >> Trusty. Vice President Wood Whley,

[3:05:35] » thank you. I just want to um just state my last point. I know I gave first um

[3:05:39] input, but here's the reality. The reality is that we have spent months and

[3:05:45] years directing staff, go out in the community, find out what they need.

[3:05:51] We're not making investment um decisions. We're asking the community,

[3:05:56] the parents, the neighborhoods, what would you like to see? What would you

[3:05:59] like to see in these new schools that we're building? What would you like to

[3:06:02] see in the schools that we're remodeling that we're mo with our modernization

[3:06:05] plan, with our onepoint entry? We're asking them and they're telling us what

[3:06:10] they want and you guys have brought it back to us. And based on that, we've

[3:06:14] made investments and we need to protect those

[3:06:18] investments. And that's what my concern is. So, I

[3:06:22] want to make sure that they're aware of that because these are our constituents

[3:06:26] investments. >> Thank you. I I I'll say too that that I

[3:06:30] I good discussion and this is this is the hard part, right? You know, um

[3:06:36] I I would rather see us stick to issues that they need to know and of our

[3:06:43] opposition. The the EM the EMO issues with academia. I know there's a lot of

[3:06:48] concern clearly there's a lot of knowledge. I I I don't know if that

[3:06:52] necessarily needs to be in this particular um input

[3:06:57] uh to the um to the charter authority. It's it's uh it's already noted in our

[3:07:02] um legislative framework that uh that that we essentially oppose these

[3:07:08] for-profit educational management organizations. I do like the I'm hearing

[3:07:13] consistently and I agree that a need is being met already. Uh I appreciate uh

[3:07:18] the discussion on the demographics uh the WC1 investments, the overall fiscal

[3:07:23] impact uh that they operate by different rules.

[3:07:27] But I think if if we we start to go down a rabbit hole when we go into the

[3:07:32] nuances uh when it comes to us opposing this

[3:07:36] particular project, I think you know the there's state requirements that are

[3:07:40] already in in place if we really want to affect change. Uh I think is I think it

[3:07:45] was you uh Trusty Nichollet that we should really work with our legislators.

[3:07:50] That's where it begins. I I I think some of the discussions in my opinion has

[3:07:54] kind of gone beyond the scope of of where we should be going in terms of

[3:07:57] opposition. >> Trusty Phoenix.

[3:08:01] » Yeah. Just to finish this up here finally, uh you kind of heard it

[3:08:04] already. So uh number one for me, just stick to the law like you have been

[3:08:07] already. And that's uh very important for uh anything that goes down the road.

[3:08:12] And again just sticks to the facts man that's it you know you stick to the

[3:08:15] facts and and uh you provide that with the data that supports all that I know

[3:08:19] you have the framework already you delivered that earlier but again just

[3:08:23] sticking to that stuff there and then the risk that I pointed out earlier uh

[3:08:27] some of the things with financing timelines and all staffing operational

[3:08:30] readiness the impacts that I could have and then again you've heard already so

[3:08:34] again students the access for everyone and I won't belabor all of that and

[3:08:39] accountability this is where I'll spend just a little piece on that is that the

[3:08:42] the governance from the SPA oversight and academia, you know, the

[3:08:47] relationships, the commitments, the consequences, there's a lot that that

[3:08:51] authority, you know, has to consider. And we want to make sure, like I said

[3:08:55] earlier, when you go for that expert, uh, badge, uh, when you're going for

[3:08:58] your infantry expert badge, you got to get everything 100% correct to get a go.

[3:09:03] And then if you don't, you're out. I really want to emphasize the importance

[3:09:06] of making sure that, uh, it's done right. So, just in closing, you know,

[3:09:10] I'm not against charter schools. Again, it was brought up. It's innovative. It's

[3:09:13] the way to go. But I'll stick to uh again, stick to the facts. The law, the

[3:09:17] facts, the data, the risk, the student impact, and accountability is a big

[3:09:20] piece for me. So, uh that's it for me. Thank you.

[3:09:24] » Thank you, Trusty Phoenix. Trusty Smith. >> Um so, Mr. President, I definitely hear

[3:09:29] you on that. I do believe that it's salient to point out the financial

[3:09:34] compliance concerns because if any of the EMOs are the ones in this audit

[3:09:42] which their identities are currently being kept private

[3:09:48] that's a must deny and so while we don't know which of

[3:09:53] these if any are Academica they are the largest for-profit EMO operator in the

[3:09:59] entire state so statistically ically it would be really surprising if they're

[3:10:03] not these. I'm not suggesting that we would outline every one of these, but

[3:10:08] the reality is is this audit report has disqualifying facts about some

[3:10:15] for-profit emos. We just don't know who they are. The state public charter

[3:10:20] school authority knows, but if any of these things are academica, that would

[3:10:24] be a must deny immediately. And so I would trust staff to interpret what this

[3:10:31] looks like in terms of a letter or in the response, but I do feel we would be

[3:10:35] remiss to not point out this audit report because it would be an immediate

[3:10:40] m must deny if any of these are academica.

[3:10:44] » Yeah, that's fair. I I just I think it it's just just not crossing that

[3:10:48] threshold of of you know this this blanket opposition of of AMOs. I mean, I

[3:10:54] think when you get on nuances, I I agree with you. Thank you.

[3:10:57] » Yeah. Um, I'll also add that I think I touched on it before and we've all

[3:11:02] talked about it that the response from the district and from our board

[3:11:06] absolutely must be student focused. It needs to be from a position of what it

[3:11:10] is that we offer and what it is that our area offers to all of our schools from

[3:11:15] the experience of our children and not so much um us as an organization or as

[3:11:21] an entity. And I think our staff can help us kind

[3:11:25] of drill down. >> Um, if we can bring forward sort of the

[3:11:30] highlevel topics, we can fill in the blanks with the staff

[3:11:36] based on this public conversation. That make sense? Superintendent,

[3:11:41] » how specific do you want this motion to be? Just like the highlevel themes

[3:11:45] because I've been drafting the highle themes.

[3:11:48] » I think I think from from my perspective, I'll speak for myself. I

[3:11:51] think that would be a really good start. >> Okay.

[3:11:54] » And then we could have some further discussion. We can hear from our

[3:11:56] superintendent if that's manageable for them. Um yeah. Does that help?

[3:12:03] » Yeah. No, I already have something. I've been keeping notes.

[3:12:06] » Uh anybody else if I'm happy to Trusty Smith, you want you share with us uh a

[3:12:13] draft motion? >> I do. Thank you. Um I I I do also want

[3:12:18] to say one other thing because this I'd be remiss to not say this. It's in their

[3:12:22] application and it bothers me. I do not believe that our current superintendent

[3:12:27] or our former superintendent are being fairly represented in this application.

[3:12:32] I will not include that in the motion because I will defer to our current

[3:12:36] superintendent and our former superintendent about how they'd like

[3:12:39] that represented. But it should be said on the record that this was a

[3:12:43] misrepresentation. And this follows a pattern for Academica

[3:12:47] schools. They made the exact same false representation of now Vice President

[3:12:53] Woodley and Trustee Nichollet and Chief Van Tress when academic filed their

[3:12:58] application for Matter Academy. And all three of those leaders I just named

[3:13:04] filed uh statements um clarifying uh what they supported and what they were

[3:13:10] told and all of that. And so when I read this application, I felt exactly the

[3:13:14] same way about how Superintendent McMaster and former Superintendent Ernst

[3:13:19] were portrayed in it, but I'm not going to include that in the motion. I will

[3:13:22] let you decide what you what you feel is appropriate with that.

[3:13:26] » Okay. >> And if I just just say too, you know,

[3:13:28] regardless of what's in the letter, to your point, um this is a public

[3:13:32] discussion and so everything we say is is still on the record. and and so uh

[3:13:38] rather it's it makes the letter or not I mean this is a a [snorts] public meeting

[3:13:43] where people can come hear your perspective your perspective uh so I I

[3:13:48] don't it's been a a very healthy exercise from that perspective I just I

[3:13:51] don't want us to lose sight of that that it doesn't make it in the letter you all

[3:13:55] of us have had a voice >> oh I would love to send a recording of

[3:13:59] this entire item to every single member of the state

[3:14:04] public charter school authority board personally,

[3:14:07] » which is not an elected body, by the way.

[3:14:09] » Which is not an elected body. That's exactly correct. They have no fiduciary

[3:14:13] responsibility to the voters um or the taxpayers in Wo County. All right. Let

[3:14:17] me take a stab at this. And JJ, I'm going to send this to you, but I was

[3:14:23] keeping notes as to what everybody was saying. Okay. And I can pair it down. We

[3:14:28] can do it. I move that the board of trustees includes in its response to the

[3:14:34] state public charter school authority all points deficiencies and

[3:14:39] disqualifiers noted in the items presentation

[3:14:43] factual demographics for the WCSD and current and proposed UNR DORAL schools

[3:14:52] school performance and specialty education programs at the full radius of

[3:14:57] area WCSD schools information on local charters in the

[3:15:02] area. Highlight corporate revenue of the

[3:15:07] for-profit EMO, financial compliance concerns with the for-profit EMO and

[3:15:14] SPCSA, protection of Nevada and Wo County

[3:15:18] taxpayer assets and investments, and the response should be provided to

[3:15:23] all the government entities identified in the agenda items presentation.

[3:15:33] Okay, that's a lot. Um, but that's it. It has to be. You want to repeat that,

[3:15:39] JJ? >> I got it. She sent it to me.

[3:15:43] » Okay. Um, >> I can read it again.

[3:15:46] » Well, I I'd like somebody to read it again, please. Yes.

[3:15:50] » Yeah, I'm more than happy to do that. Um, I move that the board of trustees

[3:15:55] includes in its response to the state public charter school authority all

[3:16:01] points, deficiencies, and disqualifiers noted in the items presentation.

[3:16:08] Factual demographics for the WCSD and current and proposed UNR DORAL schools.

[3:16:17] School performance and specialty education programs at the full radius of

[3:16:22] area WCSD schools. Information on local charters in the

[3:16:27] area. Highlight corporate revenue of the for-profit EMO.

[3:16:33] financial compliance concerns with for-profit emos and the SPCSA

[3:16:39] protection of Nevada and Wo County taxpayer assets and investments and the

[3:16:45] response should be provided to all the government entities identified in this

[3:16:49] agenda item presentation.

[3:16:55] » Okay. Um any questions on the motion? I I

[3:17:01] understand understand we need a second. Uh yeah. Well, I guess we got we need a

[3:17:04] second to discuss it. So, is there a second on this? Second.

[3:17:07] » Okay. Thank you, Trusty Nichollet. Um any questions, clarifications uh on the

[3:17:12] motion. Superintendent McMaster? >> Um I do have a question on the um

[3:17:17] highlighting the revenue of the corporate um EMO. I don't we don't have

[3:17:22] access to that. So, are you meaning highlight the fact that we don't have

[3:17:25] access to the financials? >> Oh, no. We've got it

[3:17:28] » for clarity. >> Oh, no. We've got it. Okay. What's in

[3:17:31] the application? You need >> Yeah.

[3:17:33] » Okay. >> Um

[3:17:36] » Oh, wait. We're talking about the the EMO, the corporate revenue of the EMO.

[3:17:40] Yeah, we have that. >> You said highlight the revenue at the

[3:17:43] corporate EMO for profit or the for-profit EMO. Okay.

[3:17:47] » Oh, yeah. We actually have that. >> Can you reference which what you're

[3:17:51] referring to just for our clarity? >> Yeah, it's in the proposed

[3:17:55] um it is six slash2. Oh, no. page uh slicks-3.

[3:18:02] It's attachment six of their application, the projected system

[3:18:06] budget. So, I did the analysis on this. When the new campus is proposed to open,

[3:18:13] there'd be roughly a 92% increase in the fees with their first year being

[3:18:18] $964,000. And then Academica gets a raise of 13

[3:18:24] and a half% every single year, yearover-year.

[3:18:27] Um and the last year that they project is school year 3031 and at that point

[3:18:33] the academica fees go up to 1,241,568.

[3:18:40] So they provide this right for us. >> And if I may, yes, absolutely. But to

[3:18:47] clarify, my reference is academica in general.

[3:18:51] » They're corporate dollars, not just Durell. So which is much bigger and you

[3:18:56] can't find it because they don't have to file it.

[3:19:00] » So you would like both >> both what trustee Smith for for the

[3:19:04] motion just so we have clarity on what you mean by the corporate structure with

[3:19:09] academica and the issues. It is what Trustee Smith outlined in the um uh

[3:19:16] amendments in their supplemental materials. Uh the payments that are

[3:19:20] going to uh the Academica and then it is the issue that Academica's finances are

[3:19:26] not public are not published. So we don't actually know what their financial

[3:19:30] structure looks like. >> Correct. Thank you. And and it had to in

[3:19:34] my reference just to kind of remind all of us it had to do with that long-term

[3:19:38] sustainability. And so on that note, that is I totally

[3:19:43] agree and that's a great um explanation of it. I kept it as financial compliance

[3:19:48] concerns with for-profit emos um to keep it broad for the motion, but that's a

[3:19:54] great explanation of it if that's okay. But I I kept that part high level, but

[3:20:02] that's a great explanation of what she meant.

[3:20:06] » Okay, I think that that's clear now. And I just want to double check with the

[3:20:10] team that presented. I believe everything else that you've asked for

[3:20:14] was already shared in the presentation or easily accessible. Does the team have

[3:20:18] any concerns with the ask on this motion?

[3:20:22] » Good question.

[3:20:28] » Okay. >> Okay.

[3:20:30] » Vice President Woodley, you had made a comment too. Um I want to make sure that

[3:20:34] that made it into the motion. Did Did you hear it? I did in the initial the

[3:20:39] very first um thing she stated something to the effect of what was omitted or

[3:20:43] what wasn't done correctly that covers it.

[3:20:45] » Yes. Got it. >> Yep. And that's in the all the points

[3:20:48] deficiencies and disqualifiers noted in the items presentation.

[3:20:54] [snorts] C >> can I clarify on that? I think what he's

[3:20:57] referring to uh uh Vice President Willy's comment about um is a bad deal

[3:21:03] with UNR um which is in the presentation. Is that also encompassed

[3:21:07] in that about how they're basically building a facility that is going to UNR

[3:21:13] and spending public monies to go to UNR? That that is encompassed in that uh

[3:21:20] motion. Okay. >> It's was definitely my intent but to

[3:21:23] follow President Mayberry keeping the themes high level but it sure was

[3:21:28] » from my intent. Yes.

[3:21:33] » Trusty Phoenix, please. >> Yeah. That is the only comment again as

[3:21:36] always making sure that what we ask of you and you did I just want to make sure

[3:21:40] that when we ask of the staff is this is something that you can do or you know

[3:21:45] you got it. I always want to make sure that you give me that green light you're

[3:21:48] good to go and not just say roger that sir I want to carry on. I just want to

[3:21:52] make sure I know it was asked and answered, but please one more time for

[3:21:56] me so I have a good >> Yeah, I mean to clarify, you know, it's

[3:21:59] the information we provided on this slide deck in addition to the star

[3:22:04] rating and some of the stipulations that Trustee Smith had included which I

[3:22:09] believe we can handle. >> Thank you very much for that

[3:22:13] confirmation. Yeah. The only thing that just kind of

[3:22:16] gives me pause and and maybe it's not necessarily in it because there's so so

[3:22:20] many nuances, but I I'm I'm not real comfortable getting into their Dorell's

[3:22:25] business arrangement with their company. I mean, that that's that's I I don't

[3:22:30] care. I'm more concerned about their negative impact, the fiscal impact uh on

[3:22:35] on this organization, on our resources, um you know, the uh the fact that needs

[3:22:41] are being met. So, I mean, you know, help me out here. I I just I I

[3:22:47] don't want to get into the nuances of their arrangement. That's up that's up

[3:22:50] to them. I I could care less. >> I think

[3:22:52] » it sort of is, but it's not because it says right there that the sponsor must

[3:22:57] deny if it's not meeting their performance framework. The state auditor

[3:23:02] says these EMOs that were anonymously in this report. Yeah, I get that.

[3:23:07] » Are not. >> We don't know.

[3:23:10] But if Academica is any one of these, it says right there that this application

[3:23:16] must be denied for not meeting its framework for finances or organization.

[3:23:20] » Yeah, they they have to follow their own rules. So that's that's uh I I I I can

[3:23:24] get behind that. Thank you for for crystallizing that. I just want to make

[3:23:27] sure that's where we're going. So thank you for that.

[3:23:29] » Oh, Doral, um they can agree to whatever they want with their EMO. My interest is

[3:23:34] solely that this audit report. >> Okay. Yeah. if if if it's tailored to

[3:23:39] that, I'm I'm I'm okay with that. Okay. So, looks like we have a a first

[3:23:46] by uh Trusty Smith with the second from uh Trusty Nichollet uh for uh on the

[3:23:53] motion as stated. I'm not hearing any other additions or any further comments.

[3:23:59] Yes, I'm sure Kayla, you you can repeat

[3:24:02] everything. All right. Just fine. Okay. [laughter]

[3:24:05] All in favor, please signify by saying I. I.

[3:24:08] » Those opposed? Okay. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Great work,

[3:24:12] everybody.

[3:24:18] Um, okay, we're going to move on to reports.

[3:24:22] Uh, I am going to forego item 4.02 for board reports. Going to 4.01 though, I I

[3:24:29] we have our student representative. This is Kayle's first meeting. Kaylee, is

[3:24:32] there anything you want to share with us? Um, yes, we have our kickoff for the

[3:24:37] student voice meeting on September 16th at the Automobile Museum. And then our

[3:24:43] student voice Instagram is where like students can share their voice.

[3:24:49] » Thank you very much. That's awesome. >> Uh, okay. Well, for go 4.02. In the

[3:24:55] interest of time, uh, 4.03 is a superintendent report. It's the

[3:24:59] superintendent McMaster. Do you have anything you'd like to add?

[3:25:05] Um yes, thank you. I would just like to take a moment to recognize the

[3:25:09] extraordinary impact of the Hawk fire in our community. Um so many of our

[3:25:14] families, our students, our employees have been directly impacted by these

[3:25:18] fires. Many of our colleagues have been evacuated from their own homes for

[3:25:22] several days and some have had a devastating loss of their homes. So,

[3:25:27] first and foremost, I just want to thank all of our first responders and everyone

[3:25:31] who continues to work around the clock to protect our entire community. I also

[3:25:36] want to thank the many district employees who stepped forward to help

[3:25:39] wherever needed. Um, I want to just share a story on Saturday um as the fire

[3:25:46] crested over the top of Peine Mountain. It was headed towards the north valleys

[3:25:50] where our north transportation yard is just at the base of Peine. we got um

[3:25:56] very worried about the potential impact. Um so we made the decision, the tough

[3:26:02] decision to evacuate that yard. Um this was an enormous undertaking in a very

[3:26:07] short period of time and I just want to recognize the team that made this

[3:26:10] happen. So a special thanks first of all to transportation director Scott Lee who

[3:26:16] assembled more than 75 transportation drivers and staff in a very short amount

[3:26:21] of time. Scott himself was also evacuated from his own home during this

[3:26:26] time that he was coordinating these efforts. Yet, he continued to lead and

[3:26:30] support his team during a very difficult time. And I think this just speaks

[3:26:34] volumes to his commitment to our students and our entire community. We

[3:26:39] were lucky to be able to um evacuate all of those buses before it went into the

[3:26:44] red zone. So, it was truly heroic work. I also want to just recognize our own

[3:26:49] deputy superintendent Don Angotti. Um our chief of school police Shauna Baker,

[3:26:55] our area superintendent, Melinda Baker, our chief facilities officer Tammy

[3:27:00] Zimmerman. Um, one of our interim principles, Mark Zineran. Um, Alice

[3:27:05] Smith, fifth grade teacher, Stephanie Smith. Palmer Elementary first grade

[3:27:10] teacher Chris Smith and Palmer fourth grade teacher Wayan Denny, as well as

[3:27:15] chief communication officer Michelle Anderson, and communications director

[3:27:19] Ben McDonald. They all jumped in and went on site and were helping to shuttle

[3:27:24] vehicles back and forth, especially our white fleet. So, thank you to all of you

[3:27:29] for taking time away from your families and putting our community first. I'm

[3:27:33] just incredibly proud of the way the county school district team responded.

[3:27:38] Um, this is what um a community looks like in crisis when people step forward

[3:27:44] and do whatever is needed to help one another. Um, I also just want to

[3:27:49] recognize that closing schools across the districts, I know can be

[3:27:52] frustrating, particularly when a school itself is maybe outside of the

[3:27:57] evacuation zone. These are not decisions that we take lightly. But during a

[3:28:02] regional emergency, we have to look beyond the location of an individual

[3:28:06] school site. Thousands of our students and employees have been evacuated. They

[3:28:12] face power outages that are affecting our entire community. our transportation

[3:28:16] system was um significantly impacted and our public safety resources were

[3:28:21] stretched very thin um and impacted our broader emergency response. So after

[3:28:27] extensive conversations with our regional emergency partners, we

[3:28:31] determined that the combination of all of these factors made that broader

[3:28:35] closure the safest and most responsible decision for our schools on Monday and

[3:28:40] today. I know closures create a real challenge for families and we appreciate

[3:28:45] everyone's patience and understanding. Starting last night and early this

[3:28:50] morning, we began began assessing what tomorrow may look like, making sure we

[3:28:55] evaluate all safety and operational needs from the evacuations to road

[3:29:00] closures to potential staffing shortages to meal services after we've had schools

[3:29:05] that have been without power for long periods of time to transportation

[3:29:09] impacts. Um, we will be after this board meeting assembling as a team and sending

[3:29:15] out information to our staff and our families um because we know that early

[3:29:20] communication is welcome and helpful. So once again, thank you to everyone. Thank

[3:29:25] you for being kind and patient to one another and thank you to everyone who's

[3:29:29] pulling together for our community right now.

[3:29:32] » Thank you, Superintendent McMaster. Um, yeah, that we none of that goes

[3:29:37] unnoticed. Thank you for your your continued service and the service of so

[3:29:41] many dedicated public servants at the Walsh County School District. We'll move

[3:29:44] to closing items. Item 5.01 is our public comment. Looks like we have

[3:29:48] public comment. JJ, >> John Epaleo,

[3:29:52] » Mr. Epalo, good afternoon. >> Good to see you.

[3:29:58] » John Epaleo, Protect Nevada Children. Like I said earlier, Infinite Campus

[3:30:03] contains the most massive student database ever created on US school

[3:30:07] students. I'm talking about personal, subjective, and incriminating student

[3:30:12] data that I see stores forever on our children. Data like discipline, minor

[3:30:18] discipline, medical counseling, psychiatric, and lots more. A few years

[3:30:22] ago, I had a phone call from the spouse of a WCSD school psychologist.

[3:30:28] And this person told me the spouse was upset about having to upload all this

[3:30:33] psychiatric data into Infinite Campus because the psychologist realized that

[3:30:39] Infinite Campus is not covered by HIPPO laws because they are not a health care

[3:30:44] provider. In addition, WCSD has told us Infinite Campus shares this student data

[3:30:51] with others. To date, the district won't tell us who all these others are. Go to

[3:30:57] protect nevada children.org to learn more. Since we just had good luck with

[3:31:03] the new attorney, maybe we'll ask again who IC shares our children's

[3:31:09] personal, subjective, and incriminating data with.

[3:31:13] During the next legislative session, our goal is to require IC to start deleting

[3:31:18] student data. I'm told this will be harder than what

[3:31:22] we did last session, which was to get the state to start deleting student

[3:31:26] data. So, we need your help. If anyone listening has children in WCSD

[3:31:33] who are under 18, you can request to view all their data that Infinite Campus

[3:31:38] will store forever about your children. Go to protect nevada.org. org. Toward

[3:31:44] the bottom of the page, there's a link to WCSD's page to request this data.

[3:31:50] Remember, it's your child's personal, subjective, and incriminating data. You

[3:31:55] will probably be surprised at the amount and type of data that IC will store

[3:32:00] forever about your child. Again, we don't know who Infinite Campus will

[3:32:06] share our children's data with. And more importantly, no one really knows how

[3:32:10] this may affect the future of our children. I'm John Epaleo. You can find

[3:32:15] 1500 of us on Facebook at Protect Nevada Children.

[3:32:19] [snorts] >> Thank you.

[3:32:21] » The board received emails from David Murdoch, Tom Maher, Joseph and Penny

[3:32:26] Mayor, Dick Allen, Stephanie Robersonson, Rachel Rose Van Houston,

[3:32:34] Ding Shang Lee. That's all I have. Okay, thank you very much. And uh

[3:32:41] item 5.02 is the next meeting announcement September 8th. And um thank

[3:32:46] you all for uh being flexible today. We had a time-sensitive item that was three

[3:32:51] and a half hours. So maybe it was a blessing that we only heard this item

[3:32:55] today given the crisis that we find ourselves in. I suspect the next meeting

[3:32:59] will be fairly very long because we'll have to take what we missed and and pile

[3:33:03] that on. But um I'll be in touch with all of you uh as as we get closer to

[3:33:07] that. So thank you all very much. And again, next meeting adjournment uh

[3:33:11] announcement is uh September 8, 2026. Uh item 5.03 is adjourn the meeting at uh

[3:33:18] what is it? 5:32 p.m. Have a safe and pleasant evening and be safe out there.

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting - Aug 25 2026

Transcript