A number of residents have questioned whether Trustee Alex Woodley would resign from his position on the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees following the recent sexting scandal that led to his resignation from the City of Reno on Oct. 9. 

Both Woodley and the board as a whole ignored the matter, despite the majority of public commenters who attended Tuesday’s meeting at least mentioning the desire for Woodley to step down, if not entirely focusing on the scandal in their comments. 

Woodley served as the city’s Code Enforcement Director and following an investigation, it was revealed that he had used his work phone to send and receive sexually explicit messages.

Woodley told This Is Reno the messages were “private communication[s] between consenting adults, which unfortunately violated the policy of using my city cell phone. The only thing I did wrong was misuse the city cell phone for personal activities. In my 20 years [with the city] that is the only violation that I have.” 

He told This Is Reno he deleted the messages from his phone, but did not know there were tracking mechanisms on the phone recording the data. 

Woodley resigned from his city position and from his position on the Pioneer Center board of directors. However, he told This Is Reno he plans to continue with his position on the school board. 

Resident John Eppolito, who said he is a member of Protect Nevada Children, gave public comment on an item about technology purchases but mentioned Woodley in his remarks.

“We don’t know what the kids are doing with these devices half the time anyway … We know one of the school board members is having trouble with his electronic device,” Eppolito said. “And we would like to see Alex Woodley resign over this sexting scandal he was involved in, evidently [took place] during school board meetings.” 

At least one incident of inappropriate texting did occur during a school board meeting according to the timestamps of messages. 

President Beth Smith told Eppolito he had to keep his comment to the topic, which Eppolito pushed back against, stating that prior to the last few years, open public comment was allowed at the beginning of board meetings to give constituents an avenue to voice their concerns on items separate from the agenda. 

At the end of the meeting, public commenters did have the ability to speak on any topic, which they used to express concerns over Woodley’s scandal. 

Commenter Cliff Nellis said he wanted to talk about “integrity and purity,” especially “sexual purity,” and said that the board representatives need to be role models for students and be able to keep their sexual urges in check. 

Nellis said the board member, who he did not mention by name but said “you all know who he is,” was sexting during a school board meeting in addition to the other issues found by the City of Reno’s investigation. No details of an investigation have been released by the city and Nellis did not specify what the other issues were.

“My question for you is this: Will you be people of integrity, honor and purity, to properly discipline that person?” Nellis asked. He said the only acceptable answer would be to ask Woodley to resign. 

“If you do not do anything, that is implicit approval of that type of behavior.”

He suggested trustees replace Woodley with the far-right backed candidate who lost to Woodley during the June primary election.

Other commenters asked the board to “take action” and ask Woodley to step down, both in person and through emailed comments. 

During his board report, Woodley did not comment on the scandal or concerns from commenters, but instead, spoke about trunk or treats and visits to schools, and appeared to be in high spirits. 

The board did not acknowledge the scandal or public commenters during the meeting. 

Trustees discuss cell phone use policies for students

Trustees discussed a cell phone ban for students at district schools and heard feedback gathered from students, teachers and families. While the majority of people that provided input agreed that phone use is an issue in the classroom, trustees didn’t move to ban phones outright. 

Instead, the district will be launching a “Phone Away & Learn Today” campaign to encourage students to “collectively buy-in” to turning their phones off while they’re in the classroom. There was no discussion of what enforcement would look like. 

Trustees did come to a consensus they would like to see a policy stating phones must be kept in caddies rather than in backpacks or pockets. 

This year, a number of school districts both in Nevada and nationwide have begun instituting new cell phone policies to combat what many are calling technology addiction. A Pew Research Center survey from 2023 found 95% of U.S. teenagers ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone. 

Close to home, Carson City just implemented a district-wide ban on cell phone use, and has reported positive effects on grades and student behavior since the policy took effect. Recent studies have found improvements in student mental health and grades and less bullying, especially among students with lower socioeconomic status, when cell phones are banned in schools.

Deputy Superintendent Tiffany McMaster during the presentation said “the desire for students to be on their phones is strong, and students don’t necessarily see how the impacts are distracting them from  learning.” 

One Reno High School senior Melis Kavlicogulu said as part of student feedback, “We need some way to rebuild the culture of education, to encourage students to have a desire to get off their phones and learn.” 

McMaster said beyond rules and enforcement, there needs to be a focus on teaching healthy technology use which is imperative in helping to rebuild the culture Kavlicogulu mentioned. 

McMaster said the district gathered “extensive” community feedback, and learned that overwhelmingly participants were in favor of moving forward with a phone policy. They received input from the community, students, families, teachers, and employee associations through a number of meetings and surveys. 

In total, more than 9,700 families representing nearly 16,000 students in the district, 345 teachers and 80 students from student advisory councils participated in the research. 

Survey Feedback

Families acknowledged the harms cell phones can have in schools, but said they also wanted to maintain contact with their students throughout the day. Survey results show that nearly 60% of families say it is important to be able to contact their children at school by cell phone use. Many parents said they use cell phones to track their student’s location going to and from school. 

However, nearly 70% of families also believe that cell phones are negatively impacting student behavior at school, and 80% believe cell phones are a major distraction for students within the classroom. 

Nearly all teachers surveyed—95-97%—agreed cell phone use is having a negative impact on students. 

“all the initial data supports this is a problem that warrants intervention.”

Reactions from students were mixed. While 51% of students said they believe cell phones are a major distraction in the classroom, only 38% said they believe phones are negatively impacting their personal interactions at school. Nearly one-third of students said they receive more than 10 texts while at school. 

When asked where cell phones should be kept while at school, results were even further mixed between students, teachers and families. 

No students said cell phones should be kept at home, in a locker, or a storage bin. Instead, nearly half said teachers should set the rules for their classrooms. Almost 10% said there should be no limits on cell phone use.

The majority of teachers and parents, meanwhile, agreed that cell phones belonged in storage bins or pouches, lockers, or in students’ backpacks or pockets—essentially put away and out of reach during class time. 

Some teachers have gotten creative with phone storage. Hug High School health science teacher Melissa Osterhage has created a “phone spa” where student phones are encouraged to “relax” in a numbered slotted bin dressed up to look like a day spa. 

Clayton Middle School social studies teacher Mary Copeman’s classroom has instituted a backpack storage area that is kept behind a curtain to keep distractions low.

McMaster said many other schools have invested in bin and hook systems for similar storage solutions. 

Despite the mix of responses, a majority of students, families and teachers agreed that limiting cell phone use at school would be beneficial to students. 

They said they saw the potential to decrease bullying and distractions, increase academic engagement and mental health, and improve classroom behaviors. 

The data shows that when it comes to putting rules in place, teachers, families and students had concerns over different challenges that may occur. 

Students said they were worried about safety and anxiety, having available technology necessary for classwork, and the fairness of the policy. Students also said they worried teachers would spend too much time enforcing a cell phone rule. Families, however, noted concerns that students wouldn’t follow the limits placed on them at school. 

Teachers said they are concerned with consistent enforcement across schools and classrooms and a lack of support from parents and students. They similarly raised a concern about equitable access to technology for students. 

Overall, when it comes to cell phone use at school McMaster said, “all the initial data supports this is a problem that warrants intervention.” 

“We are not preparing our children for the real world if there is an expectation that you must be entertained all the time.”

Board of Trustees student representative Arabelle Deason agreed phone management skills are important, but said she believes the issue is that the classroom is not as engaging as it could be. When class is boring, students are more likely to go to their phones for engagement, she said. 

She said she believes the phone caddies are a great solution, but she agrees that there are concerns if teachers are going to be able to enforce the bans. 

“I know, every day, it would be a battle for some teachers, and I know it would be a waste of the teachers’ time,” she said.

Next Steps

McMaster went over the plans for the pilot program “Phone Away & Learn Today,” which will launch during the second semester of this school year. 

The district hosted a pilot program PSA and digital poster contest for all students from elementary through high school in October and the winners will be announced on Dec. 2. The PSA and posters will be launched following winter break. 

The campaign will include a communication plan through ConnectEd messages, daily morning announcements and a classroom reminder by teachers at the beginning of instruction. Counselors have received training to teach the “why” of the program and how important it is to have a distraction-free classroom. 

What was missing from the discussions was what the actual rules would be on phone use and how these rules will be enforced. Instead, it seems the students will be in charge of “buying in” to the program to keep the phones away. 

Trustee Diane Nicolet said she believes in self-management, but she wants to see some consistency, at least throughout a school site if not the entire district. 

Trustee Jeff Church says he thinks enforcement will be a “nightmare,” especially when it comes to trying to enforce a ban with exceptions for medical issues. Some students, such as those with connected apps for blood sugar management, get phone notifications vital for their health.

McMaster said during the campaign, they would be collecting more data to bring back before the board in the springtime. Following this data, the phone policy will be revisited, and next step recommendations will be made to the superintendent. 

“A communication plan for continued awareness, support and buy-in will continue throughout the summer of 2025, going into the 2025-26 school year,” McMaster added. 

Superintendent Joe Ernst said this pilot program is a tangible starting point for the ongoing conversation on cell phone use. 

Trustee Smith said she is in favor of phone hotels or phone spas, and is completely against students keeping cell phones in their pockets, stating the phones need to be “completely separated” from the students for the program to work. 

Smith said she also thinks the business community needs to be involved, as employers are having issues with young workers. She said she is receiving feedback from employers that students are not leaving school understanding what expected phone etiquette is in the workplace.

“We are not preparing our children for the real world if there is an expectation that you must be entertained all the time,” Smith said. “We need to really make it clear that our teachers are educators. They’re not entertainers and we don’t expect them to be that.” 

Smith said for families who are concerned about being able to track their children through their phones while at school, attendance is taken at the beginning of each class and families will be able to know immediately where their student is—or isn’t. 

Trustee Colleen Westlake said students need to move away from instant gratification, and keeping phones out of students hands in the classroom will be a great step in increasing student engagement and preparing them for the future. 

McMaster said consistency is the key to implementation, which will make teachers feel supported. 

Following discussions, Ernst said he is hearing from the board that they are in favor of phone spas rather than keeping phones in backpacks, and will now be able to create a recommendation from his office. 

This item was for discussion only, and no votes were taken on the proposed policy or campaign.