Training requirement for Nevada school board members headed to Senate
CARSON CITY — The 107 school board trustees in Nevada will have to undergo six hours of training on education-related issues under a provision moved to the Senate floor Thursday.
Assembly Bill 451 was among the Assembly measures approved by the Senate education committee. Sponsored by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, the measure mandates training in public record laws, open meeting laws, ethics and employment contracts, among other areas.
Frierson said he felt the job of the trustee was important enough to require training.
“This is not an effort to suggest the current trustees are not prepared,” he said.
Training will be provided by the Nevada Association of School Boards. The bill would require information to be posted publicly if the trustees did not complete the training.
Although not included in the bill, Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, floated the idea of raising the salary of a school board member, who makes approximately $700 a month. Other members seemed supportive of the idea.
“They put in so many hours and we want them to do so much stuff,” said chairman Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas.
Committee members did not amend the bill to include salary raises, but did vote to send the bill to the Senate floor for a full vote.
Two other bills were also sent to the full Senate during Thursday’s meeting.
Assembly Bill 1, sponsored by Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, would expand tuition benefits to children of any public employee who is killed in the line of duty. Existing law includes only children of police officers and firefighters.
Assembly Bill 85, sponsored by the Committee on Health and Human Services, would require the instruction of CPR and the use of a defibrillator in schools as part of health classes to the extent money is available.
Contact Meghin Delaney at mdelaney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.
Training regimen
Under Assembly Bill 451, school board trustees would have to undergo six hours of training in the first and third years of their term on the board. Training would focus on:
— Laws relating to public records
— Open meeting laws
— Laws relating to local government employee-management relations
— Laws governing the system of K- 12 public schools in this State
— Laws relating to local government ethics
— The identification and prevention of violence in schools
— Certain financial management topics
— The fiduciary duties of a member of the board of trustees of a school district
— Laws relating to employment and contracts.
