BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The Lander County School Board held its spring board workshop at the Super 8. It was held Feb. 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Feb. 9 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event was facilitated by Sheila Moulton, who has facilitated several past board workshops. All of the board members were there except for John Davis. Superintendent Jim Squibb was also there.
According to Squibb, on the night of Feb. 8, the board had a review of the open meeting law and talked about facility needs. Members discussed how to proceed with the district's facilities needs plan and how best to present it to the public.
The following day, board members discussed crisis management, which included things such as school shootings, lockdowns, evacuations and protocols for managing the media.
They also talked about different ways the school board can promote student achievement and how to manage public comments at board meetings, Squibb said. They studied a book entitled, "How Not to be a Terrible Board Member."
Squibb said they studied common mistakes board members make and how to prevent them. They discussed things such as when a board member micromanages the superintendent, when a board member speaks for the entire board and how to prevent arguing with a hostile public commenter at a board meeting.
"I love these opportunities," said Squibb of the workshop. "It's just a much more relaxed setting than a board meeting and we can speak freely. I thought our facilitator was excellent. She always does her homework."
Squibb said Moulton always reviews prior school board meeting minutes to get a feel for where the board is at.
"Again, it was full of up-to-date information regarding the concerns of Nevada school districts," school board member Jan Morrison said. "Sheila Moulton did a great job in facilitating our in-depth discussions. Retreats like this are absolutely essential to aid school board members in performance of their school board duties. It's a big time and effort commitment but well worth it."
Fellow school board member Susan Davis added, "I think as with all of those retreats, especially with a facilitator like Sheila Moulton, we expand our knowledge of different things having to do with being a board member and also we strengthen our bonds with each other. It is just a wonderful thing."
She continued, "I think that the best thing I got out of it this time is I learned some other things about open meeting law, specifically about closed labor sessions and litigation meetings and the protocol associated with those things."
School board chair Anna Penola said the workshop was very informative.
"Sheila Moulton is a great facilitator," Penola said. "She is very knowledgeable, caring and easy going. She loves education and enjoys coming to Battle Mountain and sharing her experiences and ideas with us. It is a good tool to keep the board focused and to learn what is new and up and coming. I think the workshop brings back the perspective of why I'm on the board and the work we are here to do."
Moulton said she served as a Clark County School Board trustee for 12 years from 1999 to 2011. During her tenure, she was board president for two terms and filled other leadership positions on the board.
Moulton also served on the governing board for the Nevada Association of School Boards and was president of that association in 2007, she said. During her tenure, she worked alongside three different superintendents and was involved in their selection as superintendent of the Clark County School District.
She has lived in Las Vegas since 1978 with her husband, Larry. They raised six children that have gone through the Clark County school system and have 19 grandchildren that live throughout the United States.
Moulton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University and has taken education classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Before serving on the board, she was a substitute teacher in the classroom and returned to that position after leaving the board in January 2011. She is currently not substitute teaching.
Lately, she works with student teachers from Brigham Young University in Clark County School District schools and serves on the Las Vegas Clark County Library Board. She was recently appointed to the Advisory Committee for Literacy and Libraries for the state of Nevada.
Working with school boards and superintendents to ensure student achievement is a passion that Moulton said she believes in and knows that successful school boards communicate with their superintendents and community to further the education of all students.
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