What happens if there is a vacancy on the CCSD board of trustees?

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Time is running out for Clark County School District Trustee Katie Williams to respond to District Attorney Steven Wolfson’s letter.

Wolfson’s letter to Williams is dated September 4 and asks Williams to: vacated his seat because he no longer resided in the State of Nevada.

Williams has until Sept. 9 to respond to the prosecutor’s letter.

“This region’s voice is not going to be heard, but in practice they haven’t been heard for some time,” said CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita.

“If you don’t live in the community, then you’re not part of the community, so you have no say in what happens in our community,” said parent Kiyana, who did not want to be on camera.

Kiyana said her son attends Legacy High School in North Las Vegas and expressed concern after learning that the trustee elected to serve his community no longer lives in the state.

“I consider myself a rule follower, and you should follow the rule,” Kiyana said. “If your job requires you to live in a certain situation, then you should live in that situation.

But not all residents think the same way.

“He ain’t hurting nobody, let him work,” said Jerry Chase.

Kattie Williams was elected to the Clark County School Board in 2020 to represent District B, which encompasses approximately 40,000 students in North Las Vegas, Northwest Las Vegas, Mt. Charleston and Indian Springs.

Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita said the Board of Trustees will decide how CCSD’s $3.2 billion budget will be spent, student outcomes and hiring and firing of a manager.

To learn more about the responsibilities of trustees, click here.

“Ultimately, they have to be accountable to their voters,” Vellardita said.

If Williams leaves his seat or is removed, it could upend the search for the next CCSD superintendent and start date, Vellardita said.

“This could cause a huge disruption to business, if you will, because they have to look at candidates in October and hire someone by November and he’s been told by the prosecutor’s office that he has to vacate his office by September 9, you know, or they’ll take steps to remove him. If there’s a vacancy through removal or resignation, that would start a process where the trustee, the current member of the board of trustees has to go before the community for applications,” Vellardita said.

According to CCSD administrative policies, vacant positions will be advertised in local newspapers once a week for at least two weeks and applications will be received from those interested in serving on the Board of Directors.

Each candidate will be interviewed by a majority of the Board of Directors at a public meeting scheduled in accordance with open meetings laws. Board members may vote for an alternate candidate on the same day they interview the candidates.

Any candidate may withdraw his/her application for a vacant position at any time.

To learn more about how trustees fill vacant positions on the board, click here.

Channel 13 asked Vellardita if the votes cast by Williams during the period when he was allegedly no longer considered a resident could be considered invalid.

“Does the law allow for all of that and change it? Our understanding is that the law doesn’t allow for that, but that doesn’t stop the current board of trustees from looking at those votes. Most of those votes that were taken were 4-3, with Williams casting the fourth vote,” Vellardita said. “There’s nothing stopping the board of trustees from doing the right thing in our opinion and being accountable to their constituents and the community and looking at some of these important votes and asking for them to be reconsidered.”

Vellardita said if trustees want to reconsider the Williams vote, they would need to bring the matter up at the CCSD school board meeting for a decision.

The CCEA also said all trustees who were aware of Williams’ change of residence should resign immediately and that the 4-3 vote, in which Williams was the fourth vote, should be considered void for the duration of Williams no longer living in Nevada.

The union also called for an end to the policy that prevents trustees from speaking directly to the media and members of the public, saying the policy is “being used to hinder transparency and accountability.”