Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

School Board member banned from visiting schools without approval

Von Tobel Middle School rally

Mikayla Whitmore

Clark County School District Trustee Kevin L. Child attends a rally at Von Tobel Middle School in Las Vegas on Oct. 26, 2016. The rally was to discuss the school’s inclusion on a shortlist to be converted into a charter school.

Clark County School Board member Kevin Child said he has contacted a lawyer after being banned by Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky from visiting schools and district offices without prior approval.

In a memo circulated on Monday, Skorkowsky told staff he would have to personally review and approve any invitation extended to Child before the trustee would be allowed to visit district property.

Reached this morning, Child declined to further discuss the issue.

School board members are generally allowed to visit schools in their districts. But Child is facing accusations by the teachers and administrators unions that he has had a habit of showing up unannounced and uninvited, interrupting classes and making staff feel uncomfortable.

The district says school principals have the right to restrict access to their campuses.

Known for his often brash public persona, Child is no stranger to controversy.

This summer, past Facebook comments critical of Black Lives Matter protesters earned him a round of criticism from education activists.

In August, Stephen Augspurger, head of the school administrators union, told the school board that Child had threatened to beat him up over Augspurger’s support of reorganizing the district. He also alleged that Child, a vocal critic of the reorganization, had approached school principals about the issue in an attempt to get them to oppose it.

Child, who was present at the school board meeting, did not respond to the accusations.

“People are in fear of this guy,” said John Vellardita, executive director of the Clark County teachers union. “He’s a bully and is taking advantage of” his position as a trustee.

Vellardita called on the rest of the school board to censure Child publicly and hinted that the union would support a possible recall effort against the trustee.

The school board will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the reorganization, among other issues.

Child was elected in the 2014 midterms, unseating local education advocate Stavan Corbett in an upset victory.

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