CCSD hires outside lobbying firm for 2019 legislative session

A $150,000 contract was approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees Thursday night and will cover the 120-day 2019 legislative session in Carson City.

During past sessions, the district’s lobbying needs have been met by staff and an associate superintendent who oversaw the government relations department. But new Superintendent Jesus Jara has eliminated two of those open jobs, including the associate superintendent position.

The district did promote Brad Keating to be a director in the department, but the bulk of the lobbying will now fall to the outside firm.

Strategies 360 is headquartered in Seattle, but has offices around the West, according to its website. Its three Nevada based employees are:

— John Oceguera, a former Democratic speaker of the state Assembly. He also had a 20-year career with the North Las Vegas Fire Department, working as firefighter, paramedic, engineer, captain and battalion chief before retiring as an assistant chief in 2011, and has served on a number of boards in the area, according to his company biography.

■ Marcus Conklin, a former Assembly majority leader, also as a Democrat. He also worked as associate director of the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at UNLV, overseeing a $4 million endowment, staffing and key programs in real estate education and research, according to his biography.

■ Marla McDade Williams, a former deputy administrator in the Division of Public and Behavioral Health in Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services. She played a major role in shepherding the adoption of regulations governing medical marijuana establishments in Nevada, her biography said.

Trustees had previously voiced concern over hiring an outside lobbying group, questioning whether the group would be loyal to the school district over other clients. But the only question Thursday as the board discussed the contract came from Chris Garvey, who wanted to clarify which positions had been consolidated in the district to cover the cost.

“At this point, is there no plan to reinstate the positions?” she asked Jara.

Jara reiterated the positions had been eliminated.

The 2019 legislative session with be the first for Jara as head of the Clark County School District and will be a pivotal one. The district and the Clark County teacher’s union agreed Thursday to band together during the session in an attempt to secure more funding to provide additional teacher raises and put the district on sounder financial footing.

Under the contract deal, which still must be ratified by the union, the district agreed to pay a step increase to teachers and increase its health-care contribution. But the three-year agreement said any future pay increases would be contingent upon the results of the legislative session.

“We have to break this dysfunctional system and work together to secure funding,” said John Vellardita, the executive director of the Clark County Education Association.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.