CCSD school board member resigns amid residency questions

Clark County School District Board Trustee Katie Williams resigned Wednesday, hours after the Clark County district attorney’s office filed a court petition to have her seat declared vacant after determining that Williams had moved out of state.

The resignation, effective immediately, follows months of speculation over Williams’ frequent absence from board meetings, and follow-up by the district attorney, whose office sent Williams a letter last week asking if she would voluntarily resign before the matter was elevated to the courts.

In a letter to school board President Evelyn Garcia Morales, Williams said the district attorney’s letter “erroneously” claimed that she no longer lived in Nevada, but that she would step down.

“While I am confident that I would prevail in connection with the petition filed this morning by District Attorney (Steve) Wolfson, litigating with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office for the three remaining months of my term would not be in the best interests of my family, and would not be consistent with my obligation to the service of my country through my current enrollment in the Sergeant Major Academy of the United States Army,” Williams wrote.

Williams is a first sergeant in the Nevada National Guard.

When it is determined that an elected official no longer resides in their district, that official is given the opportunity to relinquish the seat, state law dictates. If they do not step away, the district attorney can ask the court — in this case, Clark County District Court — to conduct a hearing to declare the seat vacant.

In a news release Wednesday, Wolfson said that “a thorough and exhaustive investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department” determined that Williams no longer lived in CCSD’s District B, which includes urban and rural northern and northwestern reaches of the valley.

Further, the petition stated, she now lives in Nebraska.

“For the purpose of determining actual residency for elected officials under Nevada law, it is the public policy of this State to avoid sham residences and to ensure that the person actually, as opposed to constructively, resides in the area prescribed by law for the office so the person has an actual connection with the constituents who reside in the area and has particular knowledge of their concerns,” the petition said.

The petition said that a person may have more than one residence, but only one “legal domicile,” which requires both the “fact of actual living in the place and the intention to remain there as a permanent residence.” A legal domicile may be where the person lives with their children or spouse, where their car is registered, where they receive mail or the address listed on their pay stub or employment records.

“Based upon information received, the (district attorney) believes that Respondent Williams has been living in the State of Nebraska, intends to remain in Nebraska and that her actions show she intended to abandon her residence in Nevada,” the petition said.

The petition did not detail how the district attorney’s office or police determined Williams’ residency.

Could Williams’ votes be in question?

Williams was elected to the school board in 2020. Her term was set to expire Dec. 31, and she is not running for a second term.

“Unless the seat is declared vacant by a court of law or resignation, the elected representative remains as trustee,” the school board said in a statement. “Resignation or removal from office does not affect any prior votes or actions taken by the Board.”

The reference to prior board actions would be of particular interest to votes that fell on a 4-3 split, with Williams on the prevailing side.

Four-to-three votes are common. There have been six in 2024.

On three of those 4-3 board votes, Williams was among the majority.

On May 1, the board considered an item to hire an outside attorney to act as backup to the board’s counsel. CCSD has a legal department with lawyers who represent and advise the district, but for the school board specifically, the job is done by a Clark County deputy district attorney, not a CCSD employee.

Board member Lisa Guzman wanted to have another attorney available to step in when board counsel Nicole Malich is not at meetings. Participating by phone, Williams moved to reject Guzman’s proposal. Three colleagues joined her, all considering the item a distraction.

Last month, the board took two votes on how to proceed with the future at Lundy Elementary School, the tiny school atop Mount Charleston that has been closed since heavy rainfall and flooding affected the campus in August 2023.

Residents there have been frustrated for the past year with how CCSD has handled the Lundy situation. In June, a lengthy meeting on permanently closing the school ended in a draw when votes to reopen or close the school for good both failed. After neither option could move forward, the board did not try new motions, and officially took no action.

The board revisited the Lundy topic Aug. 7, when it addressed whether the building should be repaired at an estimated cost of $5.5 million to $6.5 million. This failed, with Williams, Garcia Morales and board members Lola Brooks and Irene Bustamante Adams voting against.

Then Williams, whose District B includes Lundy, made a motion to explore building a classroom addition to the small county-run library on the mountain. This would essentially relocate the school a short way down the road into a shared space.

The same people who voted against repairing the school voted to pursue the library option.

Effects on superintendent search

Additionally, Williams voted on the losing side of 4-3 splits in February, when she moved to accept former Superintendent Jesus Jara’s resignation and payout terms worth at least $395,000.

And on Sept. 4, she voted twice, both against scheduling meetings during the search for Jara’s permanent replacement.

The Williams situation is not on the agenda for this evening’s public school board meeting. In its initial official statement Wednesday, the school board said that if a vacancy occurs, the board would follow policy on appointing a person to complete Williams’ term.

According to the board’s policy on vacancies, the timeline requiring the remaining board members to advertise the position, take applications, interview and select a candidate would take more than a month. Assuming the board posted its advertisement today, that would mean there wouldn’t be a replacement until, at the earliest, mid-October.

According to district calendars and the timeline for the superintendent search, there are 12 scheduled school board meetings between now and Dec. 31. That includes three focused on interviewing candidates and picking the new chief; interviews are slated for Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and the selection of a new permanent superintendent on Oct. 30.

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