The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions
are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
Washoe County School District Board of Trustees
What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The Washoe County School District Board of Trustees are publicly elected decision-makers for the school district. They are responsible for providing oversight to the Superintendent and establishing District-wide policy. Trustees are accountable to work with their communities to improve student achievement.
Click here to learn more and see a list of current Trustees.
How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Tuesdays) at 2 pm both virtually and at the Central Administration Building Board Room, 425 E. 9th St., Reno, NV 89512.
Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings.
Can community members engage at Trustee meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Currently, members of the public can submit comments on agenda and non-agenda items through email or voice recording. Public comment can be provided in person or via email. Email comments should be submitted to publiccomments@washoeschools.net.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Washoe County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback.
What happened at this meeting?
Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights include:
- Memorandum of Understanding between WCSD and Truckee Meadows Community College
- Several vendor agreements
- Final approval for the deletion of Board Policy 4700 – Employee Complaint Process
Explore the consent agenda here.
Trustees Approved the FY 2026-27 Budget Updates
Trustees heard a presentation on the District's FY2026-27 budget process and status, and took action to approve continued analysis of budget reduction concepts as presented by staff, and directed the Superintendent to analyze and report back to the Board new items related to the budget.
Highlights of the presentation included:
- The discussion was focused on analysis being conducted by staff and discussion of requests from the Board trustees on what they want included in the FY27 budget process, given the deficit.
- Items being tracked before completion of the final budget include federal funding, rate changes for electricity and other utilities, enrollment changes, changes to the "At-Risk" metric and Special Education positions based on IEP requirements.
- Presented the fiscal year 26-27 budget timeline (August 2025 – June 8, 2026).
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Approved the Evaluation of Superintendent Ernst
Trustees approved the final performance evaluation of Superintendent Joe Ernst, for the 2024-25 school year.
Highlights of the presentation included:
- Ensuring statistical outliers were removed from the ratings on the evaluation.
- Superintendent Joe Ernst earned an average rating of 3.12 and performance rating of "effective".
- Pillar B "Strong Relationships" received the highest number of comments from trustees for Recommendations for Growth.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Approved the Recommendation of the Zoning Advisory Committee to Modify Enrollment Boundaries
Trustees approved the recommendations of the Zoning Advisory Committee to modify the enrollment boundaries of several schools, because of the Bernice Mathews Elementary School, effective for the 2027-28 school year:
- Bernice Mathews Elementary School
- Kate Smith Elementary School
- Rita Cannan Elementary School
- Agnes Risley Elementary School
- Lois Allen Elementary School
- Fred W. Traner Middle School
- Desert Skies Middle School
Explore the presentation.
Student Representative's Report
Report highlights included:
- Student participation in clubs and activities
Trustees Report
Report highlights included:
- School visits for several Trustees
- Trustee Westlake participating in the donut challenge, which incentivizes students to prevent chronic absenteeism in schools
- Received 100,900+ applications to the Debbie Smith CTE Academy, indicating the need for opening more CTE institutions.
Superintendent's Report
Report highlights included a highlight reel of the leadership team getting into the community and celebration of accomplishments.
Public Comment
Public comment highlights included:
- Concern surrounding the possible demolition of the community greenhouse at the Debbie Smith Academy
- Concern surrounding the removal of the GATE program from Hug High School
The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for November 18, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.
