School Board expands public comment back to three minutes

Members of the Douglas County School Board recite the Pledge of the Allegiance at their Jan. 14, 2025 meeting.

Members of the Douglas County School Board recite the Pledge of the Allegiance at their Jan. 14, 2025 meeting.
Tara Addeo

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Board members voted to return public comment to the three-minute time limit during Tuesday’s Douglas County School Board meeting.

The time was changed from three minutes to a minute and a half in September 2023 due to meetings ending close to midnight.

During the prioritizing future agenda items portion of Tuesday’s meeting, trustee Melinda Gneiting asked that public comment be discussed again to allow comment on action items as well.

The board welcomed new trustees Erinn Miller, Melinda Gneiting, Markus Zinke, and returning member Yvonne Wagstaff.

Wagstaff was elected board president with Gneiting as vice president and trustee Katherine Dickerson taking on the role of clerk for the second year.

• The board approved moving future board meetings to the third Thursday of each month with the exception of the February meeting which will be held Feb. 27, the May meeting which will be held May 20, and the June meeting which will be held June 26. The time of 4 p.m. will stay the same and locations will be listed as Valley or Lake prior to each meeting.

• Scarselli Elementary School Principal Susan McNeall and Vice Principal Molly Ravenscroft gave a presentation of their school highlighting their programs and achievements.

• Student board member Ender Dempsey gave his last student report before Olive Hamner, a senior at Whittell High School takes over during the February meeting. He received praise for a job well done. As a result of Dempsey’s reports the board and community was not only able to learn about the happenings of students throughout the school district, but learned of programs in need, such as the Angel accounts, which helps kids receive meals at school. His efforts helped raise $5,500 in donations as of Tuesday’s meeting for the program.

Student representatives on the board were suggested by Douglas High School graduate Madelynn Kennedy to give students a voice at the board table as a nonvoting participant. Dempsey received a $500 scholarship for his service.

• The board approved to renew membership in the Nevada Association of School Boards. In January 2024, the board debated whether to continue their membership with the state association after Trustees Katherine Dickerson and Susan Jansen attended a conference they did not agree with. The board voted to stay with the program for another year. Nevada Association of School Board members have the potential to participate in state boards such as the Nevada Interscholastic Activities, and the Teachers and Leaders Council, which can have a significant impact on shaping education policies at the state level. Many member districts use the BoardBook software application for board meetings and support materials and documents at a reduced price for members.

During final public comment, Marty Swisher pointed out the board’s collaboration throughout the meeting.

“It was good to see the board’s collaboration this evening,” he said. “You had disagreements, but they were respectful.”