Clark County wants education advisory boards
The Clark County Commission introduced an ordinance Tuesday that proposes creating one or more “Community Education Advisory Boards.”
There was no discussion during a meeting, but a public hearing is slated for 10 a.m. Jan. 3.
The purpose of an advisory board is to “facilitate broad community input and to provide advice and assistance to local school precincts and the Clark County School Board of Trustees,” according to the draft ordinance.
It’s not a new concept. State law already allows local governments to create education advisory boards.
Some municipalities, including North Las Vegas and Henderson, already have one. And similar advisory boards exist in the Moapa and Virgin valleys.
Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who brought forth the proposal, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he expects the commission could vote on the ordinance by the end of January or early February.
Segerblom said he’s trying to work more closely with schools in his district and came across a law that allows local governments to create education advisory boards. The state law is designed to push decentralization, he added.
He said he’d like to create an advisory board within his district.
“The ordinance is designed so each commissioner could do one if they wanted to,” Segerblom said.
He said he would like to talk with schools in his district about how the county could provide additional resources for things that maybe are not offered through the school district.
Segerblom said it would be ideal for the board to include representation from at least some schools in his district, which includes high schools such as Eldorado, Las Vegas High, Valley and Chaparral.
He also wants to work with school organizational teams and school board trustees within his district.
In a Wednesday statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the school district said: “We welcome opportunities to continue engaging community members in support of our students and their academic success.”
Commissioners directed county staff in October to draft an ordinance. The proposal calls for adding a new chapter to county code allowing for education advisory boards.
The boards are allowed in unincorporated areas of Clark County where there is a “local school precinct” — “each public school within a large school district that is not located in a city,” according to the draft ordinance.
Each advisory board would meet at least once per quarter and members would not be paid.
The school district has faced increased scrutiny, including a push from “Community Schools Initiative” organizers for a ballot measure that would allow local governing bodies to opt out of their county school district and form their own.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.
