On item #10, NSEA strongly objects to the proposed draft regulation language recommended in a split vote of the AB469 subcommittee to define “other staff who work under the direct supervision of the principal.”
In the current 55-page Negotiated Agreement between the Clark County School District and ESEA, nearly 8 pages are dedicated to the issue of reassignment, either due to a surplus or a reduction in force. This language has been negotiated and agreed to by the parties to give the district the flexibility it needs to operate schools, while also protecting the rights of workers. It may not be perfect, but it is much better than other processes which could invite unfairness, discrimination, or even corruption and nepotism.
AB469 is not a perfect law, but it is the product of years of political compromise. NSEA was actively engaged on this bill in Carson City during the 2017 legislative session and had many conversations with legislators about the language in the bill, including specifically about Section 16 of the bill, now known as NRS 388G.610…
The superintendent shall transfer to each local school precinct the authority to carry out the following responsibilities: (a) Select for the local school precinct the: (1) Teachers; (2) Administrators other than the principal; and (3) Other staff who work under the direct supervision of the principal.
As the April 8th letter from Sue Matuska, Esq. of Dyer Lawrence to the subcommittee stated, “By using the word ‘direct’ in the manner it did, the Legislature plainly states that the principal of a local school precinct has the selection authority only over the support staff employees that the principal ‘directly supervises,’ meaning there is no intervening supervision by another CCSD employee.”
If the Legislature only wanted to only exclude staff of central services from this section, it could have specifically done so.
Despite this, the draft language recommended by the subcommittee would make this selection authority applicable to nearly all education support professionals at a school site, disrupting the carefully balanced reassignment process at the Clark County School District, harming union rights, and violating the plain meaning of the law.
As this Board contemplates the current staffing crisis in Nevada schools, we would hope you would think twice about taking away more rights from education employees. NSEA is in full support of the language submitted by the Education Support Employees Association. This would define “other staff who work under the direct supervision of the principal” as “support staff employees who report directly to the principal without any intervening supervisor or evaluator. In a typical school setting, examples of such employees would include, but not necessarily be limited to a school office manager, a head custodian, and a building manager.”
