CCSD to transition employees to remote working Thursday

The Clark County School District announced Wednesday it will transition many of its employees to telecommuting starting Thursday and continuing through the end of the month.

The decision comes amid rising COVID-19 case numbers this fall. During a Tuesday press conference, Gov. Steve Sisolak urged Nevadans to stay at home as much as possible for the next two weeks and asked businesses to allow employees to work from home.

Sisolak said if progress isn’t made toward curbing rising case numbers, he’d be “forced to take stronger action.”

A news release from the school district refers to Sisolak’s announcement as “the difficult decision to return to a stay-at-home order.”

The school district’s decision comes just a couple of days after it released a transition plan to hybrid learning, which calls for employees to return to work sites Dec. 1 and for students to return to some in-person classes in January. The school board is slated to vote Thursday night on whether to reopen schools.

The district will use telecommuting until Nov. 30, “with only certain positions reporting to their work locations,” including at rural schools operating with some in-person classes, according to the statement. “Personnel who will be reporting to their work locations will be contacted directly by their immediate supervisor.”

The change won’t disrupt the experience for students and families during full-time distance learning, the district said, and food distribution sites will remain open.

“We are in the midst of a health crisis, mental health crisis, and academic crisis; we must come together as a united team on behalf of our 315,000 students and 40,000 employees,” Superintendent Jesus Jara said in a statement. “As a district we must balance returning our students to school and the health and safety of everyone.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.