Board approves restart contract for Sierra Nevada Academy with two‑year performance targets

The Washoe County School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously on June 23 to approve a restart charter contract for Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School, adopting performance‑based termination provisions, elevated monitoring and deadlines intended to move the school to a two‑star rating on Nevada’s school performance framework.

District academic staff presented the plan and the conditions it attaches to the six‑year restart contract. “SNAX must earn a minimum of 27 index points on the NSPF by the end of the two‑year time frame,” said Chris Hackbush, chief academic officer for secondary, describing the board’s target that would place the school at the bottom of the two‑star classification. The contract also requires two additional site visits (fall and spring) by district staff, bimonthly progress check‑ins and timely completion of federal, state and district deliverables.

The contract defines breach thresholds: three minor violations of district deadlines or a single material failure (for example, missing a statutory or federal deadline that causes loss of funds) can trigger termination procedures. Staff told trustees the two‑year target was set with the school and grounded in a two‑year simulation prepared by the accountability office.

Teachers and school leaders urged the board to approve the restart. "As a teacher, I absolutely love this school and I am in full support of the request for the charter restart approval," said Tamara Gavin, who testified during the public comment period about student outcomes in the SNAX learning model. Robert Le, identified as associate director at SNAX, cited internal assessment gains: “30% or more of our students in reading and math moved from a level one or two in the fall to a level three or four,” he said, adding that discipline incidents fell substantially.

Superintendent Joe Ernst’s recommendation bundled the performance measures, monitoring changes, document‑timelines and a suggested increase to the sponsorship fee from 1.5% to 2.0% annually; the board approved the restart motion moved by Vice President Woodley and seconded by Trustee Westlake. The motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: district staff will implement the monitoring schedule, the school will report bimonthly against its performance management plan, and trustees will receive updates. If SNAX fails to meet the defined benchmarks, the performance‑based termination language could lead to further district action under NRS‑aligned authority.