CCSD trustee Kevin Child breaks silence on school district investigation

Clark County School District Trustee Kevin Child on Saturday during a local talk show challenged the district’s investigation into his alleged inappropriate behavior, arguing that it was based on anonymous complaints.

“You can’t have a one-sided investigation,” said Child, who was on the “Veterans in Politics” internet video talk show.

Interviews with district employees by the Office of Diversity and Affirmative Action found that female employees find Child “creepy” and that his behavior frequently “crosses the line,” according to a memo obtained by the Review-Journal.

Employees noted that Child comments on their “sexiness” in an article of clothing and discusses which staff members he wants to date, according to the memo. The investigation found that employees are not comfortable pointing out the issues to Child because of his role as a trustee.

“I don’t downgrade women like they say I do. It’s not in my realm,” Child said on the show.

The investigation prompted Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky to issue visitation guidelines for Child, who now can’t privately visit a school without a written request. He also needs a written invitation to visit administrative offices.

Child said he has a problem with Skorkowsky sending out material about how Child creates a hostile work environment.

“If you’re going to make allegations, you can’t hide it behind anonymity,” he said.

The memo also addressed concerns about Child’s impromptu suicide “counseling sessions” with young students.

But Child said he’s been talking with children about the importance of education and about suicide through one district program since 2009. He referred to a specific session, suggesting that he helped uncover that some students were considering suicide.

“I saved two kids’ lives that day,” he said. “Parents didn’t call me up and tell me how bad I was. If I was talking about suicide to your kids in school and all of a sudden you found out your son or daughter was ready to commit suicide … would you be mad at me?”

Child also took aim at the Clark County Educators Association leader John Vellardita, who had argued that Child should be banned from all buildings.

“Look at his past,” Child said, referring to a federal court order in which Vellardita paid $77,850 in damages to the Service Employees International Union for a number of issues.

Child has not returned calls for comment since the investigative memo became public more than a week ago.

Review-Journal staff writer Meghin Delaney contributed to this report. Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter