Douglas County School Board settles lawsuit on open meeting law violations found during public records request

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Concerns of transparency have surrounded the Douglas County School District (DCSD) Board of Trustees since the November 2022 election, and there has been a settlement over a lawsuit brought against them.

Four plaintiffs (parent Dean Miller, former Douglas High School Principal Marty Swisher, former DCSD HR Director Joe Girdner, and former DCSD Trustee Robbe Lehmann) filed a lawsuit in August 2023, after a public records request showed four trustees violated the Open Meeting Law. Those records show the four, Susan Jansen, David Burns, Doug Englekirk, and Katherine Dickerson, used group chat during board meetings where the public was not privy to discussions, and texted and emailed back and forth on board deliberations between themselves and other people.

On March 27 the matter went before Douglas County District Court Judge Thomas Gregory. Testimony was made by former Douglas County School Superintendent Keith Lewis and Board Trustee Jansen, and other subpoenaed people were supposed to speak, but the possibility of a settlement was brought up before the rest of the testimony could continue.

Much of the private communications centered around the selection of a board president and vice president, the firing of long-time legal counsel Maupin, Cox & LeGoy, and the hiring of Joey Gilbert Law as their replacement. The plaintiffs suspected the trustees were being guided by outside political influences, and documents showed the open meeting law violations included the four trustees, as well as Virginia Starrett, Nick Maier, Jan Muzzy, and Lynn Muzzy.

The plaintiffs said it was evident the four trustees involved in the lawsuit had already decided before the meeting who was going to hold office. Trustee Burns even brought a board clerk's bell to the meeting before he was even nominated or elected to the position. The lawsuit states this "seemed orchestrated." Two of the three appointed to board leadership during that January 2023 meeting were brand new trustees, yet they became board president and vice-president and seasoned members were not considered.

In closed session, the board will be voting on the settlement during their April 9 meeting. They can accept it, reject it, or amend the agreement. Part of that agreement will be the school district paying the attorney costs for the plaintiffs, board training on open records policies, and other items.

“The Petitioners are pleased with the settlement that was reached on the 27th," said their legal counsel, Richard J. McGuffin of Alling & Jillson. "We believe it is in the best interest of the District and community moving forward. The Petitioners did not envision or have any desire for litigation when they submitted their NRS 239 public records request. That said, the Petitioners chose to pursue transparency in government and the settlement that was reached yesterday ensures the same.”

The 245-page "Second Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus" included an email from Maier to the personal email addresses of Jansen, Burns, and Dickerson in January 2023, just as the newly elected three held their first board meeting. Maier donated $57,000 to the Nevada 1st PAC which spent "an enormous amount of money" on mailers promoting Trustees Bums, Jansen, and Dickerson. The Nevada 1st PAC also donated directly to each candidate: $3,500 to Trustee Jansen, $2,500 to Trustee Burns, and $4,485 to Trustee Dickerson."

Maier's email "Suggested Topics for Discussion for the New School Board," laid out items in "advance of our meeting on Sunday at 1 PM, here is a list of Topics that the new School Board could prioritize and address." The list was seven months before the hiring of Joey Gilbert as the District's new legal counsel.

Items that could be addressed prior to inauguration:

Meet with Douglas Englekirk and Tony Magnotta and discuss Board President strategy
a. Susan action item-Thursday 17th dinner - DONE
New Attorney -
a. Review the plan sent by Joey Gilbert and, if agreed, meet with his law firm up in Reno. -DONE
Meet with Classifieds representatives.
Set up meetings with all principals at every school to introduce yourselves as a team to them. Establish a relationship with them separate from Keith Lewis.
a. We agreed these meetings should be held with all three board members present.

Items that should be on the first board meeting agenda:
Review the contract/or the existing DCSD attorney.

Items that could be addressed as a priority after inauguration:
Revisit the Lyon County non-discrimination policy resolution
New law firm to represent the Board
a. Review the contract for the current law firm
b. Then determine if a new law firm should be selected