The Clark County District Attorney’s Office is asking Clark County School Board Trustee Katie Williams to voluntarily vacate her seat after finding she is no longer a resident of Nevada.
The Wednesday letter asks Williams to confirm no later than Monday her intention to voluntarily vacate her seat. If not, the office said it is prepared to commence a legal proceeding to declare her seat vacant. News of the letter was first reported by KSNV.
Williams, a veteran and former Ms. Nevada, was elected to the board in 2020 and is not seeking re-election to her District B seat, which includes the Centennial Hills area in the northwest, North Las Vegas, Indian Springs and the Moapa area. A Republican, Williams has made headlines during her three years on the board for her comments about the district, individual trustees and teachers.
Questions surrounding Williams’ residency began swirling earlier this year after she missed several school board meetings or attended them remotely. She also posted a video on TikTok where she referred to living in Nevada in the past tense and made other social media posts related to living in Nebraska.
In May, she told KLAS she works remotely for a company with offices in Utah, Nebraska and California and travels between the three states. Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under state law, elected trustees must reside in the district they represent. An elected office can be deemed vacant if the office holder ceases to be a resident of the state, district, county, city or ward they were elected to serve. If the office holder fails or refuses to relinquish their office, Nevada law allows the district attorney to take legal action to declare that office vacant.
As a trustee, Williams receives a salary of $750 per month.
It’s unclear how the district attorney’s office determined Williams’ residence status, and when she moved out of the state. The office did not respond to inquiries seeking more information.
The Clark County Education Association, which represents 18,000 teachers in the district, said in a Wednesday statement that the letter was a step in the right direction.
The union also called for the resignation of Board President Evelyn Garcia Morales for “gross negligence when she ignored community and stakeholders concerns about Williams’ lack of residence” as well as an investigation into whether Garcia Morales and any other trustees might have had knowledge of Williams’ out-of-state residence.
“If in fact it is found that any trustee was complicit in covering up or shielding insight in Williams’ lack of residency then those trustees should resign immediately,” the union stated.
The union also called for all votes that were decided on a 4-3 basis — with Williams casting the deciding fourth vote after she was no longer a Nevada resident — to be vacated.
Clark County School District officials said in a statement they are aware of the district’s attorney letter, but did not provide further comment on the issue.
In June, a group of five trustees, not including Garcia Morales, asked District Attorney Steve Wolfson to investigate whether Williams resides in her district.
“She is being compensated with taxpayer dollars, and not meeting her responsibilities that the office requires because she no longer resides in Nevada,” the trustees stated.
This story was updated at 4:24 p.m. on 9/4/2024 to include a statement from the Clark County School District.
