School Board 1

School Board Meeting

Alisha Larsen
College of Southern Nevada EDU 214
School Board 2

The first thing I noticed with the school board meeting was that they start the meeting

with an invocation. I found it interesting that even though Establishment Clause does not allow

prayers to be led by the school. In Lee v. Weisman (1992) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that

school sponsored prayer at a graduation was in violation of the Establishment Clause. It got me

wondering how a school board meeting was any different. The Establishment Clause prevents

the use of coercion by the government to support or encourage religious exercises. After the

invocation students from several schools were invited to give presentations on their schools. By

inviting the student to give a presentation the school board has coerced the student to be involved

in a religious exercise because they would have to miss the opportunity to present to the school

board if they did not attend for the invocation.

Several student body presidents represented their schools to give the student

presentations. The presentations included lists of the schools achievements. The achievements

included graduation rates, where the school ranked in the country, as well as areas where the

school focuses. The student from Las Vegas Academy of the Arts discussed the work that they

do being able to work with the Smith Center as well as the performances they would have, which

included a trip to Spain.

The next following areas included recognition for the superintendent for a perfect work

attendance for the year. They also brought up a grant that the school district has for technology in

learning. The list of items given as uses for the technology grants included many iPads for the

classroom, there was mention of a 3D printer for a class and many other different uses. It was

nice to hear of all the extra tools these teachers have been able to acquire to help with their

students education.
School Board 3

During the first public comment period they were discussing the rules for a special

turnaround testing that was being offered. The board did question the legal representation to

make sure the testing was handled in the legal aspect. They brought up the idea that many

teachers are now teaching to the test and how it is effecting the turnaround schools.

The superintendent introduced the WellHealth Medical Group as an option for the

Teachers Health Trust. They have a limited time frame to get everything worked out for the

teachers. The current plan will be expiring and there are certain time frames needed for notice

and open enrollment. This is to provide the teachers with an appropriate time frame to research

and make choices in their health care benefits. This relates to the teachers rights in the school

district. There was a large portion of time spent on the possible new insurance plans for the

teachers in the school district.

A teacher after the presentation of health insurance made a statement that the last change

to the health insurance has made a large increase to the teachers cost for insurance. Many others

made complaints about the current state of the school district heath care plans and the increase in

cost with the frozen pay. There are many teachers that have complaints that do not speak up but

should.

There was a large portion spent on the health insurance and there is only so much I can

write concerning the subject without continuing to repeat myself. The time I spent listening to

the school board meeting was very informative. It also let me know how important it is to be

involved in these meetings when there is a subject that is important to me as an educator. I

cannot expect others to fight for what is needed if I am not also willing to fight.
School Board 4

References

CCSD School Board Meeting . (2015, September 24).

Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992).
Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School Law for Teachers. Upper Saddle River: Pearson
Education, Inc.