Trustees approve path for JROTC instructors to join district bargaining unit

The Washoe County School District Board of Trustees approved consent agenda items on April 28, including a path for JROTC instructors to enter a negotiated agreement with the Wash Education Association.

Members of the district’s JROTC teaching corps and program leaders urged the board to approve the change during the public‑comment period. Colonel Ken Stein, a senior Army junior ROTC teacher, told trustees the instructors “teach the same students” and share the same professional responsibilities as other licensed teachers, and said inclusion in the WA would provide consistency in pay, retirement and professional protections. Lieutenant Colonel Todd Hudson and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Caldwell repeated those points and described program duties, travel and after‑hours requirements that they said warrant parity in representation.

Kaylin Evans, speaking for the union, thanked district staff including Chief Human Resources Officer Doug Owen for years of negotiation and called the proposed agreement a “historic event” for the district’s JROTC programs. Trustee Westlake praised instructors’ contributions and thanked the speakers for their advocacy.

The board moved the consent agenda items that included the bargaining‑unit matter and approved them unanimously. The items were advanced with the understanding staff will implement the negotiated agreement pathway in coordination with HR. The district did not adopt detailed contract language at the meeting; staff will return with the formal negotiated agreement provisions and implementation steps.

What happens next: staff will finalize the negotiated‑agreement language and return it to the board for formal approval. The district acknowledged this change affects salary computations tied to military pay and may require administrative adjustments to ensure step placement and benefit parity.