Karen Polis made a comment regarding concerns about tennis teams of Sandy Ridge campus.

Mr. Lengsavath asked Ms. Diggins to chair this meeting since he is joining remotely and Ms. Diggins is attending the meeting in person. 

Ms. Diggins explained this came up at the last board meeting during public comments, and the board heard a few issues and concerns regarding this, so the board felt the need to have a broader discussion so called this subcommittee meeting. It was requested that the administration and athletic department give some background information. Mr. Ercan summarized that from the last meeting, there were some concerns regarding gym access over the summer which have been resolved, and some complaints that there has not been fair access to the gym for all sports. There were also some concerns related to communication. 

Ms. Aquino explained how gym usage is split up between sports and said the teams that are in season have priority and they go off of the coach's availability to schedule practices. The biggest issue for gym usage time is in the Spring because there are a lot of teams including other CASLV campuses and a new request for CASLV elementary school teams to also access the gym. This also included basketball team scheduling. 

Ms. Diggins summarized that it seems like things were working ok for the Fall and Winter seasons but the Spring had issues because of multiple teams at various levels for other CASLV campuses and numerous teams within those sports in that season, it became difficult to meet everyone's needs of the gym. Mr. Thompson explained they do everything they can with limited space compared to CCSD facilities while remaining in compliance with the NIAA State of NV, OSHA, and Nevada health code requirements.  At one point they had 11 teams that needed access to the Sandy Ridge gym so it has been very difficult. He believes they have done the best they can but agrees things possibly could have been done more efficiently. 

Mr. Lengsavath asked for clarification regarding tennis and asked the administration to address that and having a team versus a club for tennis. Mr. Ercan reviewed other teams like swimming that have to make other arrangements to use other facilities for practices. Mr. Thompson said a decision can be made regarding tennis and they are looking into adding additional staff to assist. 

Mr. Lengsavath asked if things can be improved next school year or if additional resources are needed. Mr. Thompson explained they are always trying to improve and yes they will be much more effective next year however they can always use a larger budget. 

Ms. Diggins summarized the concerns and allegations which were raised: 

1. Gym Usage: The Director of Athletics who is also a volleyball coach is favoring volleyball scheduling time over other sports teams.

2. Concerns about scheduled issues, communication, follow-up, and transparency about how those things get addressed. 

3. Equipment ordering including uniforms. balls, basic equipment needs that students need for sports. There is a sense that not all teams are treated equally. 

4. Issues about feelings that leadership does not support these efforts because they do not attend sporting events, awards, games, etc. 

5. Summer gym closure. 

Ms. Diggins asked for feedback from Mr. Ercan on what his plan is as CASLV's Executive Director. Mr. Ercan indicated there was already a meeting with Sandy Ridge administration and coaches and he has been working on this. There have been discussions with Mr. Adem and CASLV's HR Director about how we can improve all of this next school year. Mr. Ercan explained the chain of command. There are plans to meeting one on one with the principal to create a plan to improve. Mr. Ercan explained there was maintenance needed over the summer in the gym which required the gym closure. Mr. Ercan said he will have an update at the next board meeting.  Ms. Diggins asked for some flexibility regarding the contractors and completing the gym maintenance. 

Ms. Diggins proposed this subcommittee recommend to the board that the board be committed to providing financial needs as needed. If the issue concerns funding, she would like something to come back to the board so we can make sure the correct financial resources including fundraising and whatever fees parents are paying can be evaluated so supplies and other things can be ordered promptly. Ms. Diggins indicated that it sounds like Mr. Ercan has a good plan moving forward and it sounds like there is a lot of internal discussion that has happened and needs to happen. From Ms. Diggins's experience, the board has complete trust in Mr. Ercan and his ability to solve these issues. He has always done a good job when issues like this have come up in the past. Ms. Diggins requested an update to come back to the next regular board meeting about how things are going. If there are still parent concerns, the board can consider a task force or special committee if we need new policies or procedures. Mr. Lengsavath agrees and thinks a lot of this can be solved in a non-financial manner. Mr. Ercan explained the next board meeting is on August 30th and an update can be provided at that meeting.

Ms. Diggins asked for feedback from the parents present and asked that we give Mr. Ercan a chance as CASLV's Executive Director to resolve these issues. Some parents commented that they agreed but did not mention anything else that needs to be addressed. It was discussed that different ways of communicating need to happen and this is something that Mr. Ercan excels at. 

The following attendees from the public made similar comments regarding gym usage and athletic program issues during the 2022-2223 school year. Comments were made regarding issues with late practice times, equitable gym usage by all teams that are in season, and enough practice time during game weeks. Parents requested fairness and a good explanation of the rules. Being prepared and communication issues were described as not good during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Lindsay Balasta (attended remotely) 

Saray Robinson

Amy Wingate 

Melissa Robinson (attended remotely) 

Ayman Badaoui 

Marissa Aranas (attended remotely) 

Jay Wingate 

Edgardo Robinson   

Jon Lacenere 

Karen Polis 

Mr. Gardberg added nobody has enjoyed spending hours expressing frustrations or hearing those frustrations, and surely nobody wants to do this again. There was discussion of escalation but he does not think that is going to be necessary as the parents have expressed their concerns at the highest level of CASLV. Ms. Diggins is the President and when the board has wanted something improved it has been improved. In terms of rebuilding trust, parents have done what they needed to do and he thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. 

Mr. Wingate commented that hours and hours were put into putting together the document the parents presented. He hoped there would have been a response from the athletic department to it as there was so much information presented and he hoped for a response from it today. Ms. Diggins said she will be sure the document is presented to the full board on August 30th and thanked everyone for putting it together. The board is committed to getting this resolved and under Mr. Ercan's direction and leadership they will. 

Lindsay Balasta said there was time for the athletic department to work on some of these issues and thanked the board for listening to their concerns.