Four Douglas school trustees named in state ethics review

The Douglas County School District Offices are located in the historic Minden school house on Mono Avenue.

The Douglas County School District Offices are located in the historic Minden school house on Mono Avenue.

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Deferral agreements were recommended in ethics complaints against Douglas County School Board trustees David Burns, Susan Jansen, Katherine Dickerson and former trustee Doug Englekirk, the Nevada Commission on Ethics said on Thursday.

The Commission’s review panel met to discuss ethics complaints made by members of the public on Aug. 19 and Sept. 11, 2024.

Under the recommendation, trustees could take corrective action under the terms of an agreement instead of having their cases forwarded to the full Commission for more proceedings, according to the review panel determinations.

Should Burns, Jansen and Dickerson agree, they would be required to comply with the state’s ethics law for one year without a new complaint, receive ethics training approved by the director within 60 days of the agreement and certify they’ve read the disclosure and abstention chapters of the State Ethics Manual.

The trustees have until March 15 to agree, unless there is an extension for good cause. Englekirk likely won't be required to participate in the requirements as he is no longer a public official.

The four trustees are the subject of a records lawsuit that as of Thursday is waiting on a final order.

District Judge Tom Gregory found that they and the district withheld records they were required to submit and are liable for the plaintiffs’ legal costs.

Both sides submitted what they think the litigation cost, but there is a significant disagreement on that amount that Gregory must determine.

Plaintiffs attorney Rich McGuffin submitted $153,758 with his original information. Attorney J. Robert Smith argues that around $86,000 in fees incurred after an initial settlement attempt should not be part of the bill.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2023 after plaintiffs sought public records from trustees to determine if they’d violated the Nevada Open Meeting Law by discussing matters outside the view of the public.

After Jansen testified in the case in early 2024, an effort to settle was made, but was rejected by the three trustees who were not involved in the case.

According to court documents, trustees produced an additional 6,136 pages of documents nearly a year after the lawsuit was filed.

The district produced 466 pages of documents that had not been provided.

Nevada’s public records law puts the burden for withholding documents on the holder of those documents. Should it be determined that the holder violated the law in keeping documents secret that should have been released, they are liable for any legal costs required to obtain them in court.