The Douglas County School District Offices are located in the historic Minden school house on Mono Avenue.
Four school board trustees found to have withheld records they failed to turn over in a timely manner voted to use Douglas County School District resources to pay for their attorney, prompting an ethics complaint.
Trustees Susan Jansen, David Burns, Katherine Dickerson, and former trustee Doug Englekirk voted to have the district pay for their attorney, according to information obtained by The Record-Courier.
They also removed a clause in a contract that would have held them responsible for those costs should District Judge Tom Gregory rule against them, which he did.
Those actions taken May 21 and Sept. 3, 2024, may be in violation of Nevada’s ethics law, according to a review panel of the Nevada Commission on Ethics.
The three sitting trustees have until March 15 to agree to corrective action or the matter will be turned over to the full commission for further proceedings. Englekirk lost his bid for re-election and is no longer on the board.
Should Burns, Jansen, and Dickerson agree, they would be required to comply with the state’s ethics law for one year without a new complaint, receive ethics training approved by the director within 60 days of the agreement and certify they’ve read the disclosure and abstention chapters of the State Ethics Manual.
The four trustees are the subject of a records lawsuit that as of Feb. 10 was waiting on a final order.
During the May 21, 2024, meeting board trustees authorized the superintendent to retain legal counsel to represent Englekirk, Jansen, Burns, and Dickerson for matters related to records lawsuit.
According to the complaint, it was clear trustees Englekirk, Jansen, Burns, and Dickerson needed legal counsel after the state insurer denied them coverage and that they would financially benefit personally from the action and should have recused themselves, according to documents viewed by The Record-Courier.
However, none of them did, and Burns made the motion, which was seconded by Dickerson.
Burns also successfully moved to specifically remove an indemnification clause that would have require the trustees to pay back the district should they be found liable.
“I make a motion that the trustees may authorize the superintendent to retain legal counsel to represent the trustees, Englekirk, Jansen, Burns, and Dickerson for the matters related to the Writ of Mandamus,” Burns said.
Trustee Linda Gilkerson asked legal counsel Joey Gilbert Law if the four trustees could still be responsible for legal fees after removing the indemnification clause.
“The court could order and find that the trustees acted in bad faith,” said Joey Gilbert Law representative Kendra Jepsen said at the May meeting. “There is dispute if at that point the trustees would have to pay the fees.”
The motion passed 4-3 with all four of the respondent trustees in favor and trustee Yvonne Wagstaff, and former trustees Carey Kangas and Gilkerson voting no.
On Sept. 3, a meeting was conducted naming new superintendent Frankie Alvarado the district’s representative in the records lawsuit, allowing him to communicate with counsel, negotiate with opposing party, and make decisions to resolve the lawsuit.
In the records lawsuit, Burns, Englekirk, Jansen, and Dickerson are represented by Robert Smith, separately from the district’s counsel due to the district’s and trustees’ possible conflicting interests.
The result of the action was that the nonrespondent trustees could not communicate directly with legal counsel, just the superintendent.
The commission’s review panel discussed the complaint made by members of the public on Aug. 19 and Sept. 11, 2024, and it was recommended that the trustees take corrective action under the terms of an agreement instead of their case going forward to the full commission for more proceedings, according to the review panel determinations.
District Judge Tom Gregory ruled on Oct. 10 that the trustees and the district withheld records and are liable for the plaintiff’s legal fees.
Both sides submitted their litigation costs, but there is a significant disagreement on the amount that Gregory has yet to determine.