Transgender allegation unconfirmed

Despite recent political claims circulating that biological boys are allowed in girls’ sports and locker rooms and that schools have turned into unsafe environments for girls, Douglas County Superintendent Frankie Alvarado said he has not been made aware of any current transgender or nonbinary students in the district.

“I am not aware of any such issue in our schools,” said Alvarado. “I was told a student identified as nonbinary last year, but had not heard of any issues relating to girls bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports participation.”

Alvarado said he cannot confirm the claims made in a political flier sent to people’s homes, and as an employee of the district must remain politically neutral, citing Douglas County School District Policy 437.

“Election years and political activities have historically created lots of conflict in our country,” he said. “These political arenas are always opportunities for candidates to express their viewpoints and agenda. The district is a public entity that is funded through public tax dollars and that requires the district to have policies for employees to remain politically neutral.”

Alvarado said he doesn’t intend to make any public statements or comments that would put the district in a situation of liability.

“It doesn’t take much for lawsuits to be filed and I hope to avoid any allegations of viewpoint discrimination, free speech impingement, and or undue influence on the election,” he said. “Therefore, I will trust that our community will do their due diligence with research and will do their own fact check on campaign materials to make informed decisions with their voting.”

The allegations have been a controversial topic in Douglas County School District for over two years.

Even as a trio of Douglas County School Board trustees were running on a platform to protect girls sports, voters were approving a constitutional protection for gender identity or expression.

Question 1, which added gender identity rights, was on the 2022 ballot and was approved by 170,000 votes amounting to 58.63 percent of the vote across the state.

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this State or any of its political subdivisions on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin,” according to Section 24 of the Nevada Constitution.

In May 2023, a policy was introduced during the Douglas County School Board meeting that addressed the allegations and the need to protect girls in bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports. The Airport Training Center, where the meeting was held, was over capacity of more than 100 community members in person and online including parents, students, teachers, counselors, and LGBQT advocates who expressed views both in favor and against the proposed policy.

During the meeting, the ACLU of Nevada warned the board of litigations if they went forward with the policy.

“We will not under any circumstance permit you to discriminate against our transgender or nonbinary students,” said ACLU Executive Director Athar Haseebullah warned during the meeting.

The policy was tabled during the meeting and Alvarado told The R-C on Wednesday, that there have been no plans to move forward with the policy and the decision with the supreme court has yet to be decided.

In this election, School Board candidate Antoinette Casselberry has repeatedly namechecked an Olympian that she coached.

Nikki Hiltz competed in the Paris Olympics this year finishing seventh in the women's 1500 final in Paris. Hiltz won a silver medal at the the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Glasgow, then won a gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene before going to the Olympics.

Hiltz self-identifies as transgender in a post after their win.

“Hi, I’m Nikki and I’m transgender,” they said on social media. “That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is nonbinary.”

Casselberry said she was aware that Hilz identifies as nonbinary.

 “When I coached her for three years she called herself a girl,” she said. “As far as I know she is still biologically female and has had no surgeries. She was a determined 9-year-old and she could outrun all the others. I have not personally communicated with her to know any intimate details.”

The University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team’s protest over the prospect of competing against a San Jose State University transgender player made international headlines last week.

In response, the university avoided violating the state constitution by shifting the game out of Nevada to San Jose. Since there weren’t enough players to participate, the game was essentially forfeited.

Editor's Note: This story was edited to revise Niki Hiltz's record.