Race to replace Wright on CCSD board draws 8

Eight candidates are running to replace longtime Clark County School District Trustee Deanna Wright, who has represented the Henderson-area District A seat since 2008.

Wright cannot run again due to term limits.

Kari Deike

Kari Deike is a 30-year veteran teacher and librarian who says she’s seen the quality of education at CCSD steadily heading downhill.

“When you try to bring it up as a teacher, people don’t really listen to you,” she said. “I’d like to use my education and background to make some of the differences that could really help students.”

Specifically, she says she’d like to take a look at how challenging the district’s curricula are, as she believes lessons that are too easy put students at a disadvantage beyond high school, particularly in college, where they may find themselves in remedial classes. But first, the tone and direction of the board of trustees needs to change in order to refocus on student achievement, she said, pointing to a recent meeting in which trustees debated approving additional emergency powers for Superintendent Jesus Jara.

On possible budget reductions, Deike said it’s first important to spend existing funds wisely. Budget cut proposals that target the arts or libraries or other areas that impact students are often designed to rile up the public to raise more money, she said.

“We are facing tighter times, but it should not be taken out on the students,” she said.

Lisa Guzman

Lisa Guzman, executive director of the Education Support Employees Association and assistant executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, began her career in elementary education. With this experience, she said she believes she’ll bring a much needed teacher perspective to the board.

“I felt like somebody with my background needs to be sitting on the board,” she said.

Reflecting on the board’s recent meetings, Guzman said the district did not adequately prepare to close schools for COVID-19, even though many were aware it could be a possibility as early as January. She said as a trustee, she would have pushed for more information about the plan to close schools and shift to distance learning.

Of her district, Guzman said there are some well-equipped schools, and others who struggle to get what they need from the district. She said she’d like to highlight the good work being done at schools like Basic High by holding more trustee events and town halls on those campuses.

Guzman added she does not believe she’d have to quit her union jobs if elected trustee, but would recuse herself from work involving Clark County, and focus on northern Nevada instead.

Amanda Kennedy

Amanda Kennedy is a familiar face to many at CCSD, having served as the district’s communications director from 2011-2013. Prior to her district role, she worked as deputy communications director to then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She said she first decided to run for the seat as a parent of CCSD students, as well as a Henderson homeowner and business owner. But Kennedy said she now believes she can channel her experience in disaster response gleaned under Schwarzenegger to help the district manage the COVID-19 crisis.

“Moving forward, we need to be better prepared should we need to close schools again,” she said.

Kennedy last worked for the district during a time of budget reductions and says she recognizes she may be headed back just as schools are asked to make cuts again.

She said previous district leadership had tried too hard to make everyone happy, and that she sees her responsibility as an elected official to ask difficult questions, even if they may not be welcome by labor groups.

“Students are often very overlooked in adult conversations,” Kennedy said. “I want to be that voice for students.”

Liberty Leavitt

Liberty Leavitt was an administrator at CCSD up until last summer, when she parted ways with the district for the nonprofit Core, which serves underprivileged youth.

She says she’s spent her whole career in education, including as a social studies teacher in private, charter, magnet, and comprehensive schools, adding that she believes the district could better embrace the opportunity to work with and learn from charter schools.

“With my background, I have seen that a disconnect exists between our schools and our central office,” she said. “I really want to help bridge that gap.”

Leavitt added that as someone who regularly presented before the board, she knows that there’s time wasted at board meetings that could be better spent focused on student achievement. On potential budget reductions, Leavitt said she would not accept cuts at the school level, but would rather look to programs that are not site-based first.

Leavitt also pointed to the issues caused by the new human capital management system this year as an example of an issue that could have been handled differently.

“From Day 1 that we knew there were going to glitches, you do whatever you need to do pay your employees,” she said.

Leavitt currently serves on the Workforce Connections Programs Committee, the Supporting Our Survivors Board, the Mayors’ Community Breakfast Committee, and the CCSD Early Exposure Apprenticeship Committee.

Jshauntae Marshall

Jshauntae Marshall is a CCSD parent and the chief architect behind 1865 No Racism in Schools, formed after incidences of racist bullying were discovered at Arbor View High School.

She said that after more than a year of working to implement change and improve the district’s diversity and inclusion practices, she’d like a chance to affect policy and bring more parents into the fold.

“If you’re not in education a lot of that information goes over people’s heads,” she said in reference to board discussions. “Being a parent who went through the process with the district and had a lot of questions about how things worked, this is my way to pay it back.”

Of the district’s response to COVID-19, Marshall said there was a greater chance to reach more students who do not have access to computers or the internet via a “Stuff a Bus” program that could deliver food, Chromebooks and learning materials to their doors.

Looking ahead to possible budget reductions, she said she’d consider teacher and staff pay untouchable, and would like to see more due diligence exercised in existing funding allocations.

If elected, she’d like for CCSD to establish a presence at Henderson community events along Water Street and host more family-friendly activities.

Anand Nair

Anand Nair is a financial advisor and Marine Corps veteran who has two children currently in schools. He says his past military priorities — troop welfare and mission accomplishment — would work well for CCSD, too.

Nair said he believes he can bring much-needed financial experience to the board — particularly during a pivotal time that may include budget cuts — in order to look at where the money is being spent.

“If we’re able to find more funds to pay teachers, that’s important, because in successful districts around the country they are paid higher,” Nair said. “CCSD makes a great effort to bring in people, but then they go somewhere else.”

Nair has also served on the Southern Nevada Housing Authority and the Nevada Corporate Investment Trust.

Nair added that there is an untapped opportunity too to look to Nellis Air Force Base a source of educators.

But first, the dynamics of the board need a course correction, he said, as trustees must focus on setting policy and holding officials accountable.Looking ahead to the next school year and beyond, Nair said he believes COVID-19 will lead to societal change that schools need to prepare for.

“While kids are in school, can we provide education in other ways,” he said. “There’s room for creativity within the curriculum.

Mike Rowe

Mike Rowe is a regular presence on Clark County teacher forums who sued CCSD, the Clark County Education Association, as well as the district’s police department and the Metropolitan Police Department in 2016 over his termination, with a judge ruling in the defendants’ favor.

Now, he says his primary concern is corruption at the board, district and state levels that has put teacher due process rights in jeopardy.

For voters, he said he says it’s critical to elect trustee representatives who will make sure the district isn’t misusing money or giving out frivolous contracts.

“If a voter is looking for someone to protect the money, money, money, I’m their guy,” he said.

Andrew Cartwright did not return an interview request from the Review-Journal.

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.