Define 'district' in policy

Will a policy proposed by the majority of the Douglas County School Board affect everyone employed by the school district from the superintendent to the janitors?

Board Bylaw 030 was up for first reading on Tuesday evening and includes a clause that requires “all statements, letters, opinions, recommendations, and/or District communications delivered to the public, the parents and/or guardians, or the student body, to first be presented to the Board for approval.”

We hope that’s not what was meant, but with that majority insisting on control over all communications from the “district,” what is anyone reading that agenda to think?

The Douglas County School District is one of the biggest employers in the county with around a thousand employees.

We expect that those employees who are represented by associations will continue to be able to say what they want, but what about principals, or coaches who aren’t in the associations?

The school board only has one employee, and that’s Superintendent Keith Lewis, and the agenda is a pretty clear signal that the board majority intends to force him out, whether under his own power or not.

The irony is that when we see something, the first person we would call is Lewis.

We would suggest by calling for a forensic audit and reviewing communications, the trustees who hold a narrow majority, are seeking to gin up some sort of charges against Lewis, or at least raise the pressure on him to the point where he decides it isn’t worth the effort.

The last official communication The R-C has had from Lewis was about an Aug. 25 lockout at Minden Elementary School.

Under the new policy, Lewis would not be able to tell people that was actually a false alarm until after it was vetted by the school board, leaving people wondering what was going on with their children.

Who on the school board will serve as the “information first responder” in that instance? Will they take turns? Is that even legal? Will the school board trustees, who don’t agree with the majority, be allowed to speak? More importantly, who would stop them and how?