'Junket' approved after protesters are no-shows

Protesters who objected to paying for a member of the Nevada State Board of Education to attend a conference in Nashville, Tenn., skipped a meeting last week, allowing the trip to be approved.

"When the consent agenda came up, there was no one in the audience to speak to any item on that agenda, and we had nothing in writing from anyone to the board secretary to be read," said board member Barbara Myers.

Because of that, she said, the item was passed unanimously without debate.

Conservative activist Chuck Muth, formerly of Las Vegas but now based in Carson City, raised the objection to Myers' planned trip to the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting in August, saying it was a waste of $2,757 in public money.

He drummed up protests from a number of his supporters and sent his protest letters to several media outlets in Northern Nevada.

Muth questioned what value, if any, the board of education would get from attending the conference in Nashville. He contended Nevada lawmakers were attending and could brief everyone on the education issues discussed.

Muth urged that approval of the proposed trip be taken from the board consent agenda for last Friday's meeting. He said it should be taken up separately so he and others could make their arguments against the trip and the entire board could discuss and vote on what he described as a "junket."

The Nevada Department of Education and board members, including Myers, received numerous e-mails protesting the trip.

But when the board met in Las Vegas on Friday, no one - not even Muth - showed up to make the case.

Muth confirmed Wednesday that he didn't attend the meeting. He said he was in Las Vegas the day before but didn't stay over to attend the meeting.

Muth said he made his objections to the board in advance, so attending the actual meeting "wasn't that important."

"It was a done deal anyway," he said.

But, he said, he has more issues to raise about the board before this election season is through.

Myers said she hopes to be able to bring back an understanding of current legislative issues and initiatives involving public education when she attends the national conference in August.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.