The offices of the Douglas County School District are located in the historic Minden School.
Four Douglas County School Board trustees accused of ethics violations signed deferral agreements with the Nevada Commission on Ethics on condition they obtain training and not violate the law over the next year.
David Burns, Susan Jansen, Doug Englekirk and Katherine Dickerson’s deferral agreements appear online at the commission’s web site.
While the deadline to sign the agreements was Saturday, the agreements were signed toward the end of February.
All four agreements are identical with the exception of the trustees' names.
According to the agreements, the complaints stemmed from actions taken by the trio along with then-trustee Doug Englekirk regarding a records lawsuit filed in August 2023.
On May 21, 2024, the four board members voted to direct the superintendent to find and hire legal counsel to represent the school district in the lawsuit and to remove a contract clause that would have held them responsible for legal fees.
According to the agreement, the trustees were advised they couldn’t vote on whether to approve a potential settlement by their counsel, who remained silent on the other two items.
A second ethics complaint stemming from a Sept. 3, 2024, school board meeting to discuss the lawsuit where the board’s counsel, representing Joey Gilbert Law, said they could all vote.
The complaints prompted an order of jurisdiction and resulted in an investigation into the trustees alleged violations of the law, including failing to disclose or abstain in a matter involving a pecuniary interest.
In January, a review panel for the conclusion determined that the cause existed for the ethics commission to render an opinion on the violation but indicated that the trustees’ action could be addressed by the deferrals rather than taking them to the full commission for further investigation and proceedings.
“No findings have been made by the review panel or the commission that (the trustees) violated the Ethics Law, and this agreement does not constitute an admission by (the trustees) of any violation of the Ethics Law,” according to the agreements. “No findings or determinations have been made by the review panel or the commission on whether (the trustees’) conduct as outlined herein was willful.”
Under the agreement the trustees will be monitored for their compliance over the next year, complete ethics training approved by the director and submit certification that they’ve read and understood the disclosure and abstention chapter in the Ethics Manual.
If trustees follow the agreements they signed, the complaints will be dismissed.