Realtors group was granted temporary protection order against embattled school board trustee

Six months before he was elected to the Clark County School Board, District D Trustee Kevin Child’s issues with the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors culminated in a temporary protection order.

The order against him, issued for 15 days in May 2014, came after the association’s attorney wrote about a confrontation with Child that caused him to fear for his safety, court records show.

“Mr. Child approached me in an aggressive manner and verbally threatened me by stating that he pays my salary and I was in ‘danger of violating my ethical obligations,’ ” the group’s lawyer, David Sanders, wrote of an incident this past April.

Sanders’ affidavit also detailed Child’s rocky history with the group, which the school trustee has belonged to as a local Realtor.

Child’s behavior again came under scrutiny last week, when the district restricted his school visits and interactions with school staff.

Union leaders in the district have cited a similar pattern of behavior by Child, detailing complaints of bullying, unprofessional conduct, disruptive school visits and at least one physical threat.

Child said in an interview Monday that he has sought records of complaints against him for the past 18 months, but that the district has not provided any.

Child said he’s being targeted because he questioned the implementation of the mandated reorganization.

“Now that I’m asking all the questions, now it came back up again,” he said of complaints against him.

The school district declined comment Monday on any investigation regarding Child, or on his claim that he has not been provided records of complaints.

Guidelines that Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky sent to staff last week forbids Child from appearing at any school without a written request to visit.

He also can’t enter an administrative office without a written invitation and must meet with staff on official business at the Board of School Trustees office.

The district has not provided reasons for the restrictions, noting only in a letter to staff that they are instituted “to ensure a safe and respectful working environment.”

The Realtors association’s court filing claimed that Child disrupted group meetings in 2011 and 2012.

The application for the temporary order also claims Child wrote “inappropriate comments” on the group’s Facebook page in 2013, and states he confronted and harassed association staff at a quarterly meeting.

“Mr. Child’s actions have been so disruptive that on two separate occasions GLVAR has revoked Mr. Child’s membership on GLVAR’s committees,” Sanders wrote.

“Mr. Child’s most recent behavior, as well as his prior history, has caused significant interference with GLVAR’s business and its employees at the workplace to the extent that Mr. Child should be ordered to stay away from the offices of GLVAR.”

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen later issued a temporary order for protection against harassment in the workplace, requiring Child to avoid contact with the association’s staff and stay 100 feet from its office.

The Realtors association declined to comment, except to state that Child is no longer a member. Child said Monday that he still is a member.

The court denied the association’s request to extend the order later in 2014.

Child said the order was unwarranted. He said he threatened only to report Sanders to the State Bar of Nevada because he was unhappy with how the lawyer was trying to represent the association.

He also said Facebook comments he wrote on the group’s page were about business practices and were appropriate. He was concerned with the group’s business operations and wanted the group to audit itself.

Child’s concerns are outlined in a class action lawsuit he and two others filed against the association in 2012, citing “questionably improper transfers,” an overcharge on broker application fees and other financial issues.

The lawsuit was dismissed in 2013, although Child said the group settled the issues out of court.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com.