School board hears from ‘Red for Ed’ supporters

The Churchill County School Board heard from teachers regarding salary issues and approved a contract with a chief nurse for the district during its special meeting Aug. 16.

Due to technical difficulties which prevented online streaming, the regularly scheduled board meeting Aug. 9 was rescheduled as a special meeting. A note has since been added to the agenda stating, “If the district experiences equipment failure and cannot stream the meeting, the Board of Trustees meeting will continue in person.”

Teachers and supporters of Red for Education, or “Red for Ed,” wore red clothing and sat in on the board meeting. The movement unites parents, teachers and communities to bring better school funding and respect for public education.

Churchill County Education Association Teachers Rights Chairwoman and middle school social studies teacher Lori Kaiser had previously brought in a sign that said, “Teachers have value. We are worth more than words!”

Kaiser told the LVN the sign represents her feeling that praise and positive words are nice, but they don’t help to pay the rent. Churchill County teachers haven’t had a raise in a long time, Kaiser said, and it seems that every time teachers do get a raise, they have to give up something else.

During public comment Monica Mayfield, a third grade teacher at E.C. Best Elementary School, referred to the “substantial raises that teachers in other counties have received.” She went on to say that she absolutely loves her job but “... money matters, especially to those teachers who are single parents or living paycheck-to-paycheck because of inflation. Why do we need to give up something to get a raise that so many in other counties are already getting?”

Churchill County High School Science Department chair and chemistry instructor Steve Johnson shared his concern about the recent lack of job applicants to district positions. He asked the board to consider that as a reason to “make our salary schedule more competitive so that in the future when we have available positions we can attract the most qualified applicants that are out there.”

During board reports Vice President Matt Hyde also said that there is a shortage of officials for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. He asked for anyone interested to come to the NIAA office to sign up.

The board approved a 2023-24 chief nurse contract with Chassity Mills who was an emergency hire for the first few days of the new school year. Superintendent Derild Parsons said the negotiated salary was higher than advertised, but he feels the district is in a really good place with the chief nurse. He added she “has hit the ground running” to get things ready for students and that she is already skilled in using the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant electronic health records database.

Acting Clerk Kathryn Whitaker commented that Mills had been the nursing instructor and coordinator at Western Nevada College.