Incumbent Trustees Wright and Tew locked in tight races for CCSD board spots

By AMELIA PAK-HARVEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

Clark County School District Board of Trustees member Deanna Wright listens during the public comment period at the CCSD board meeting to approve the district’s final budget for the 2016-17 academic year at the Greer Education Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Jason Ogulnik/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Clark County School District District E Trustee Patrice Tew listens to Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Nevada Department of Education Steve Canavero speak during a CCSD Board meeting about the Every Student Succeeds Act at the Greer Education Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, July 6, 2016. (Jason Ogulnik/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Clark County School District Trustee Deanna Wright was locked in a tight race but appeared headed to another four-year term, election results showed Tuesday night.

In District A, Wright secured roughly 53 percent of the vote with about 53 percent of precincts reporting. Her challenger, retired teacher Richard Vaughan, was at 47 percent.

Going forward with what would be a third term representing the southeast part of the district, Wright stressed bringing more community involvement to schools.

“We really need to work on climate and cultures in our schools,” she said Tuesday night. “We really need to make sure that all of our schools are places that our kids feel safe, that our staff feels comfortable.”

The school board race in District E, in the northwest part of the county, was proving to be an even tighter race.

With 55 percent of precincts reporting, newcomer Lola Brooks had roughly 52 percent of the vote while incumbent Patrice Tew had 48 percent.

If elected, Brooks said she’d look forward to having a community-level conversation about improving academic performance. She would also like to address workplace climate for teachers and administrators.

“We should want schools to be a better place to work so that kids can actually achieve better academic outcomes,” she said. “As a district, we should want to be good to our employees.”

The two newly elected trustees will become part of a school board that must navigate a challenging landscape, with a massive district reorganization and the new Achievement School District that could convert selected schools to charter schools.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.