Nevada Ed-Watch: Washoe County School District 10/27/26

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. 9^th 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 13, 2026

Washoe County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback.

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda

Consent agenda highlights include:

• Approval to provide professional consultant services for architecture & engineering services for the Sparks Middle School Reconstruction Project ($6,200,000)
• Approval of a 1-year renewal of the Power School Contract for My Professional Growth System (MYPGS), the WCSD's  Online Professional Learning, Evaluation, and Student Learning Objectives Platform ($204,259.43)
• Approval of several facility and RFB items

Explore the consent agenda here.

Trustees Received a Presentation of the Teachers of Tomorrow 2026 District Impact Award for Excellence in Supporting Teachers 

Trustees received a presentation of the Teachers of Tomorrow District Impact Award for Excellence in Supporting Teachers to the Washoe County School District.

Learn more about the Teachers of Tomorrow organization here.

Trustees Received a Presentation and Approved the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) 1 From Core West, INC. DBA for Construction of a New Elementary School on the Edward L. Pine Middle School Site

Trustees received a presentation and approved the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) 1 from CORE West, INC. DBA CORE Construction as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) for construction of a new elementary school on the Edward L. Pine Middle School site, CMAR #26-27-C-09-AA, in the amount of $6,248,571; approval of an owner's contingency in the amount of $350,000, for a total of $6,598,571; and approval of the Washoe County School DIstrict's owner-CMAR construction agreement.

Highlights of the presentation included:

• Design phase funding was approved in February of 2025, and the construction phase funding was approved in September of 2026.
• Demolition and abatement began last fall and is expected to conclude by the end of Winter Break.
• CORE staff anticipate coming forth with the next phase for approval in January of 2027.

Explore the administrative regulation

Trustees Received a Presentation and Approved the Temporary Closure of Fred W. Traner Middle School

Trustees received a presentation and approved the temporary closure of Fred W. Traner Middle School, in accordance with Washoe County School District Administrative Regulation 7087, effective at the conclusion of the 2028-29 school year, for reconstruction of a modern pre-K-5 elementary school facility anticipated to open for the 2030-31 school year.

Highlights of this presentation and the item below included:

• The temporary closure of Traner in 2026 is the catalyst for  Sparks Middle School opening in 2029 and then a new elementary school on the Traner campus in 2030. 
• The current capacity (subject to change based on decisions of the zoning advisory committee) of the new Sparks Middle School will be 1200 students. 
• Trustees were satisfied with the updated timeline and comprehensive approach regarding how the materials will be presented to the zoning committee. 

View the administrative regulation.

Trustees Received a Presentation and Approved the Change of Use of Glenn Duncan Elementary School, Dorothy Lemelson Elementary School, and Rita Cannan Elementary School. 

Trustees received a presentation and approved the change of use of Glenn Duncan Elementary School, Dorothy Lemelson Elementary School, and Rita Cannan Elementary School in accordance with Washoe County School District Administrative Regulation (AR) 7087, to begin the approved repurposing framework process, effective at the conclusion of the 2029-30 school year. This process will inform how these buildings or sites may be used in the future.

Highlights of this presentation can be found under the item above. 

Explore the administrative regulation.

Student Representative's Report:

Report highlights included:

• The superintendent provided a presentation on strategic goals to the student advisory committee.
• Next meeting will be on November 18th. 

Trustee Reports:

Report highlights included:

• Trustees attended several school and community events. 
• Next Monday (November 2nd) is the last listening session for the Strategic Plan Refresh occurring from 5:30- 6 p.m. at Vaughn Middle School.
• Trustee Smith attended the 70th anniversary of the Council of Great City Schools. 

Superintendent Report

Report highlights included:

• U.S. News published a ranking of the top-performing schools, and 10 of WCSD's schools were included in the top 50 for elementary and middle schools in the state of Nevada.
• The superintendent awarded several teachers teaching awards during school visits.

Public Comment

Public comment highlights included:

• Concern regarding the effectiveness of the iReady assessment. 
• Concern with data privacy and screen time associated with EdTech. 

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for November 10th, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.