January 28, 2025
Investigations: Confidentiality and Progressive Discipline
The Nye County School District appreciates parent efforts and the recently expressed concerns to help us improve our schools. We understand that some parents are unhappy with how the district responds to parent complaints. We want to assure you that all of our school leadership teams and the district leadership take all complaints seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and respond appropriately.
Please understand that we cannot respond to an organization or a third party regarding parental concerns. We must address concerns with parents directly because we are legally committed to protecting the confidentiality of our students and employees. This means that we cannot legally reveal how the accused is disciplined to any party, whether the accused is a student or an employee.
We also must follow the progressive discipline process for both students and employees. These are outlined in the Restorative Justice Plan and the Employee Contracts, respectively. Sometimes, the person filing a complaint believes the only satisfactory resolution is for the district to terminate the employment of an individual. For significant incidents and illegal actions, this does happen, but most employee offenses fall into the progressive discipline process, particularly those behaviors that can be prevented in the future.
We encourage parents to bring their concerns to the school because we fully support and regularly consult with our school leadership teams. This is the best way to address parent complaints promptly and effectively.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Joseph H. Gent, Ed. D.
Nye County School District
Superintendent
View a PDF of this statement HERE.