North Las Vegas picks union organizer as new school board trustee

The North Las Vegas City Council chose a different School Board appointee last week after questions arose about whether its original pick would be allowed to serve.

The council voted during a Dec. 6 meeting to appoint Dane Watson, an employee of the Clark County Education Association, to the role for six months.

Four nonvoting members will join the Clark County School Board in January — the result of a new state law. Each local government appointed one trustee.

In October, the North Las Vegas City Council appointed its own Councilman Isaac Barron, who teaches world history at Rancho High School, to the position.

But questions — and disagreement between the city and school district — surfaced about whether a current school district employee can fill the seat.

During the Dec. 6 meeting, Barron said that he is retiring in May after about 30 years as a teacher and then it will no longer be an issue for him to be appointed to the School Board.

Before the vote, Barron said that appointing Watson would be a “placeholder type of appointment.”

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said the agenda item to make a new School Board appointment was “somewhat concerning” because of the processes and the need to follow state law versus what’s in the school district’s policies and regulations.

She said her opinion is that having someone who works for the school district could be “a strong voice of reason for such an appointment because they are in the trenches every single day.”

Goynes-Brown said the situation is “disappointing” and it’s a little disparaging that the city has to go this route, but “we will be the adults in the room” and make an appointment for North Las Vegas.

School district policy says current employees can’t serve on the board of trustees because it’s a conflict of interest. But it’s unclear whether that applies to new appointees, who are nonvoting members.

In early November, School Board President Evelyn Garcia Morales sent an email to Barron “expressing concern over his appointment due to Board policy stating that an educator cannot serve on the Board,” according to City Council meeting materials.

The city argues that Nevada law allows the city to appoint a resident of its choosing and that it pre-empts School Board policy.

Garcia Morales said in a Friday statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The Board of Trustees looks forward to welcoming the new City of North Las Vegas Appointee. We continue to prepare for onboarding all newly appointed Non-Voting Trustees as we continue our focus on student outcomes.”

During the City Council meeting last week, Barron said he was “deeply honored” that fellow council members would have the faith in him to represent the city on the School Board.

“Of course, we disagree with the CCSD board’s decision to not sit me in January,” he said.

But Barron said that on the other hand, he doesn’t want the issue of him still being a high school teacher to be a distraction.

What’s important is for the city to have a representative and to stay focused on the idea of moving the school district forward, he said.

‘I love advocating for educators’

Watson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday that serving on the School Board is a great opportunity, and he can be the ear and voice for educators.

Watson — who has worked for CCEA for about 25 years — is an organizer who goes out to schools, primarily in North Las Vegas. His job responsibilities include recruiting and communicating with members.

Watson previously taught eighth and ninth grade social studies in Arkansas for five years before deciding to advocate for educators.

“I love advocating for educators and public education,” he said.

Watson said he doesn’t see any conflict of interest with being a non-voting member of the school board while also employed by the teachers union.

He said he’s appointed by the city of North Las Vegas and will be representing their “needs and desires and vision for the schools in North Las Vegas.”

Each municipality — Clark County, as well as the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas — picked an appointee who’ll serve a four-year term on the school board.

In addition to Watson, other appointed trustees are: Charter school principal Lisa Satory (representing Clark County), former charter school leader Adam Johnson (Las Vegas) and former Valley High School Principal Ramona Esparza-Stoffregan (Henderson).

They’ll join seven elected members who are already serving on the board.

Union officials on the school board

Watson won’t be the only union official on the board.

Current trustee Lisa Guzman — who’s an elected voting member — is assistant executive director of the Nevada State Education Association. Its affiliate, Education Support Employees Association, represents support staff in the district.

There has been tension between the school district and the Clark County Education Association. The teachers union has also publicly called for Superintendent Jesus Jara’s resignation.

Amid contract negotiations this year, union members held protests, including at school board meetings and near schools.

After 11 bargaining sessions since March, the district declared an impasse in September and the matter heads to arbitration.

A district judge also ruled in September that a teacher strike had occurred and issued a preliminary injunction after eight schools had one-day closures due to a large number of teacher absences. The union has denied any involvement.

The union has appealed the decision and the case is pending in the Nevada Supreme Court. The union also filed a lawsuit in District Court challenging the state’s longtime ban on public employee strikes.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com. Follow @julieswootton on X.