Governor makes final State Board of Education appointments
Gov. Brian Sandoval announced his final appointments to the State Board of Education on Monday, choosing to keep President Stavan Corbett of Clark County on the board and adding Freeman Holbrook, a Reno middle school math teacher.
"Today's appointments are the next steps in reforming the governance of K-12 education in our state, a process I began during the 2011 Legislative session," Sandoval said.
Nevada voters used to choose the board's 10 members. But the Legislature changed that by passing a bill that took much of that responsibility away from voters starting in 2013.
Voters now elect four of 11 board members. They join three governor-appointed voting members and four nonvoting members.
With Corbett and Holbrook, Sandoval appointed billionaire education advocate Elaine Wynn in mid-December as a voting member.
The governor-selected, nonvoting members are Thad Ballard, school board president of Elko County School District; Richard Stokes, superintendent of Carson City School District; Kevin Melcher, member of the Board of Regents from Elko; and Kamryn Mock, junior at Arbor View High School in Las Vegas.
The governor must pick from a list of nominees often chosen by state education groups, such as the Nevada Association of School Boards, the Nevada Association of School Superintendents, and the Board of Regents.
The Senate majority leader nominated Corbett, and the Assembly speaker nominated Holbrook.
For another first in state history, the governor has the authority to appoint the state superintendent of public schools, who previously was chosen by the board.
In March, Sandoval appointed Superintendent James Guthrie, who expressed excitement Monday about the re-created board in full force starting Tuesday.
"I am confident the state board is now poised to provide Nevada's schools with the bold vision they need and the high quality instruction students deserve," he said.
Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
