5 stories part of action-packed year for CCSD
It was an action-packed year for Clark County’s kindergarten through 12th grade schools, from contentious teacher contract negotiations to a cyberattack and incidents in between.
Contract negotiations began in March between the Clark County School District and Clark County Education Association, which represents more than 16,000 licensed employees.
Teachers union members held protests — including at two school board meetings — and some high school students organized walkouts.
After 11 negotiation sessions, the district declared an impasse in September, and the matter went to arbitration.
An arbitrator who was appointed in December directed the parties to resume negotiations. The arbitrator then accepted an agreement Dec. 20.
The new contract calls for a 10 percent salary increase the first year and 8 percent in the second, as well as additional pay for special education and Title I teachers at schools with high vacancy rates.
In September, a district judge ruled that a teacher strike had occurred and ordered a preliminary injunction to stop rolling sickouts that closed eight schools for one day each. The union denied any involvement.
This year, the district also was affected by school security threats and incidents of violence on or near school campuses, including a police altercation in February with students near Durango High School.
In May, a campus security monitor was injured at Von Tobel Middle School after being struck by a “stray bullet” from an off-campus shooting, police said.
And in November, 17-year-old Rancho High School student Jonathan Lewis Jr. was beaten by about 10 teenagers during a fight in an alleyway near the school and died a week later.
The district announced in October that it was affected by a cyberattack, and it later implemented additional security measures, including for Google Workspace accounts.
A handful of Las Vegas public charter schools experienced operational issues this year, including the closure of Girls Empowerment Middle School due to enrollment and financial challenges.
Here are five additional memorable education stories from 2023:
Teachers union considers “work actions”
During a Clark County Education Association meeting in July, educators set a deadline the following month to reach a tentative collective bargaining agreement and said they could decide at that point whether to engage in “work actions.” In this story, we looked into the possible effects.
Pay raises for charter school employees
Local charter schools used additional state funding to raise pay for teachers and support staff by as much as 20 percent this school year. At some schools, starting teacher pay now surpasses what’s offered by the school district. School leaders said the pay boost has helped them recruit and retain educators.
Impact of school safety threats on attendance
In March, a juvenile was charged with making “terroristic threats” after police received a report of a youth armed with a gun in the hallways at Shadow Ridge High School. Students hid for more than an hour while police searched the campus, but no gun was found. This story looked at attendance rates at Shadow Ridge and other CCSD campuses the day after a school security threat.
Concerns about CCSD behavioral school
Peterson Academic Center, a behavioral school in the district, was discussed during a state legislative hearing earlier this year after reports of fights and inadequate staffing. One grandmother talked with us about her grandson’s experiences at the school.
Heart of Education awards discontinued
A surprise announcement was made in April during a Heart of Education awards ceremony. The Smith Center announced it planned to discontinue the popular offering because of concerns over competition with a new school district awards program.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com. Follow @julieswootton on X.