North Las Vegas councilman appointed to CCSD board of trustees

Councilman Isaac Barron was appointed Wednesday to the non-voting position, which was mandated by Assembly Bill 175 signed into law this year.

The law aims to give local governments more input into public education matters.

Starting next year, the cities of North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Henderson, and Clark County, will each sit a member in an expanded 11-person board of trustees.

This month, Las Vegas appointed charter school leader Adam Johnson, and Henderson on Tuesday elected former Valley High School Principal Ramona Esparza-Stoffregan to the post.

Clark County has not made an appointment.

Barron, who teaches world history at Rancho High School, spoke through tears about his appointment, noting that he often stays up until early morning hours grading homework.

“I’ll be doing everything that I can to make sure that our kids never get left behind,” he said.

Questions remain about whether Barron’s appointment is allowed under a CCSD policy that states that school district employees can’t serve on the board of trustees because of an “unacceptable conflict of interest,” which runs rampant under the state’s ethic laws, according to the district.

Any school district employee appointed or elected to the board of trustees must quit their job before taking the oath of office, according to the policy.

It’s not immediately clear if that also applies to the non-voting members of the new hybrid board, or whether Barron would need to step down from teaching.

A city spokesperson said Barron doesn’t need to step down from his teaching position.

“AB175 does not address the employment of a non-voting appointee and only requires the appointee be a resident of North Las Vegas,” Cheryl Bella wrote in a statement. “Councilman Barron has been an educator for over 25 years, and the City of North Las Vegas is grateful for his continued dedication to our community and our youth.”

The school district previously opposed the bill that added positions to the board, arguing that it “seeks to experiment on the school-aged children in Southern Nevada by imposing a non-evidence-based board structure that puts adult issues and power struggles ahead of the needs of kids,” the district’s Director of Government Relations Patricia Haddad told legislators before the bill was passed.

The school district and Barron did not provide comment by time of publication.

City Manager Ryann Juden on Wednesday outlined the intention of Assembly Bill 175 that created the four new trustee positions.

The state passes laws every two years that are implemented by the elected members of the board of trustees, leaving cities with limited input.

The law is an attempt to bridge that gap, Juden said.

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said it was important to the city “that we had someone who understood those processes and can jump right in and be involved and have meaningful conversation, work closely with our trustees and represent North Las Vegas as well.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter Julie Wootton-Greener contributed to this report.