Incumbent trustee faces rural superintendent in District G

Incumbent Linda Cavazos will face off against retired former Eureka County schools superintendent Greg Wieman for the seat representing District G on the Clark County School District Board of Trustees.

District G has 48 schools serving approximately 41,000 students across the east valley and part of Henderson.

In June’s primary election, Cavazos and Wieman emerged as the top two candidates out of a field of seven , with Cavazos finishing ahead of Wieman with 37.3 percent of the vote to his 17.3 percent.

Cavazos is a former district teacher who taught at Basic High School for 15 years and has lived in the district for more than 30 years, where each of her children went to school. She now runs a private counseling practice and says she is running to represent a district where many parents are also teachers, bus drivers and food service workers.

“I know the neighborhoods. I know the people. I know the ethnicities and people’s concerns that they have,” she said.

Former superintendent

Wieman, a first-time candidate, was a teacher for 21 years and an administrator for 17 years in Michigan, Colorado and Nevada. He served as the superintendent of the Eureka County School District until 2016.

He has lived in District G for the last four years since retiring, but cited the district’s “diminished” reputation as one of the reasons he decided to run for the board.

“There’s some perception that I might have competence,” he said. “I think people want to see better public school systems. They’re hoping that I can make a difference.”

When it comes to tackling student achievement, Wieman says it’s important to first ensure that there are safe, cordial and productive learning environments in every school.

The district saw a spike in violence last year that ultimately prompted school leaders to implement several safety measures over the summer like new fencing, single points of entry and updating cameras.

“We haven’t been in the news lately for rampant violence, but I don’t know if it’s better,” Wieman said of the efforts. “Certainly providing an appropriate learning environment is key.”

Cavazos said the steps were a start in addressing the immediate fears of parents and staff, but she also called the measures a “hardening” of schools that were far from enough to address the underlying causes driving violence on campuses.

Student achievement

When it comes to student achievement, Cavazos described the issue as an umbrella encompassing several different factors, including funding from the state, standardized test scores and the social-emotional health of students.

“Student achievement is not going to go up unless we address the whole child. … We need to be transparent and accountable to our constituents,” she said. “They need to see what we are doing on an everyday basis.”

Wieman said standardized tests shouldn’t be the main benchmark for measuring progress, and the district should instead set measurable and attainable goals where it can improve, such as graduation and attendance rates.

“Kids all learn at different rates,” he said. “They all have different potentials, and we have to do everything we can to maximize the potential of every kid.”

Wieman has also been critical of the board’s dynamics over the last year, which he called unprofessional and an “embarrassment.”

The relationship between the board and Superintendent Jesus Jara has also been strained, after trustees voted first to oust and subsequently reinstate Jara last fall.

Wieman said he didn’t have enough information about Jara’s performance to make a judgment about his contract, which trustees voted to extend on Oct. 5.

“My biggest concern would be, can we restore the credibility of that office?” he questioned. “If we can’t, then that’s how you cut the ties.”

Cavazos was board president when the board voted to oust and subsequently reinstate Jara last fall and voted both times to terminate the superintendent’s contract.

Cavazos said there is information that could better help the public understand why the board voted the way it did, but that those details are confidential.

Cavazos was once again in the minority this month in voting against renewing Jara’s contract. But in an interview before the vote was held, she said she approached the issue with an open mind.

“Do I want to see more evidence and data at the evaluation? Yes,” she said. “Am I open to working with Superintendent Jara? Absolutely.”

Contact Lorraine Longhi at 702-387-5298 or llonghi@reviewjournal.com. Follow her at @lolonghi on Twitter.