DA calls for CCSD trustee to resign after finding she no longer lives in Nevada

After months of complaints and speculation about Trustee Katie Williams’ residence, the Clark County District Attorney and local teachers’ union are calling for her resignation.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson is calling on Clark County School Board Trustee Katie Williams to resign or be removed from her seat after he completed an investigation and determined she no longer resides in Nevada. 

This comes after months of speculation about Williams’ residence, as she has not attended meetings in person and dials in instead. Wolfson’s investigation was the result of multiple complaints to the DA’s office since May by education advocates, the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) teacher union, and fellow trustees. 

Wolfson is giving Williams until Sept. 9 to respond before proceeding to declare the seat vacant. 

Williams represents District B and is required by law to live in that district, which includes the northern part of the Las Vegas valley, Mesquite, Moapa Valley, and Nellis Air Force Base.  

Williams has previously defended herself from the claims that she resides outside of the district, arguing that she is a single mom and her work with the US Army makes her schedule “difficult,” especially as she has to travel to work. But she said that she “makes sure to continue to attend meetings and represent the best interests of the voters.”

“I am not going anywhere, and I will finish the job that an overwhelming majority of District B voters sent me to do,” she said in a June statement. 

Four of the seven elected school board members — which also has four additional appointed members — are up for election in November. Williams’ seat is among those up for grabs in November, after she decided not to run for reelection. 

The CCEA is also calling on board president Evelyn Garcia-Morales to resign “for gross negligence when she ignored community and stakeholder concerns about Williams’ lack of residency.” 

The union is further urging the other trustees to vacate any 4-3 decisions with Williams voting in the majority if they were issued after the time that she was found to have moved out of state. 

In a push for accountability, CCEA’s letter also calls for an investigation into any other trustee “who had knowledge of Williams lack of residency.” The teachers union said that any trustees found to be “complicit in covering up or shielding insight into Williams” should also resign. 

The calls for resignation come as CCSD continues its search for a new superintendent, a process that is supposed to conclude in late October, with the new hire starting in early November.