3 candidates looking to replace late regent Lieberman

Three candidates are running for the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents in District 5 — a seat that’s now vacant following the death of incumbent Sam Lieberman earlier this month.

Three candidates — Patrick Boylan, Kevin Child and Nick “Doc” Spirtos — are running for the seat during the June 9 primary election, which will be conducted by mail-in ballot only. The district’s boundaries include parts of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

Lieberman was the incumbent and was planning to seek reelection, but died April 3 at age 58 while in office. His name will still appear on the ballot.

Regents govern Nevada’s public higher education system, including UNLV and UNR, Nevada State College, four community colleges and Desert Research Institute. Those schools serve a total of more than 100,000 students.

Boylan served on the Nevada State Board of Education from 2002 to 2006 and was previously a member of the Winchester Town Advisory Board. He also ran for Congress in the First District in 2016 fand for Assembly in 2010 and the Clark County school board in 1998.

He said he’s a semi-retired educator who leads seminars and trainings on safety and emergency management. Prior to that, Boylan — who earned two master’s degrees from UNLV — was a community college computer instructor for 11 years.

He said about UNLV: “It’s my alma matter. I just love the place.” His sons also attended the university.

Child, who works in real estate, is a former one-term Clark County school board trustee who lost his seat in 2018 after a controversial tenure.

In October 2018, the Nevada Supreme Court ordered the Clark County School District to release 104 pages of internal records, which showed district officials concluded Child had created a toxic environment for staff and students. A former superintendent banned him from visiting schools and other district facilities without first getting permission.

Child said at the time that allegations of harassment made against him were false and were an attempt to get him out of office. He filed a lawsuit against CCSD alleging school district officials and other board members made false claims about him in an attempt to defame his character. Online court records show the case was dismissed.

Child told the Review-Journal on April 17: “It was a contentious run for four years because I tried to expose the problems with the budget in the Clark County School District.”

He later added: “If I was really in trouble, why didn’t they file ethics charges against me?” And he said there were “news people who weren’t doing their job right.”

Child described himself as a “practical kind of person” and “a maverick.” He said if he’s elected to the board of regents, he won’t just say yes to anything just to get along with other people, but will ask tough questions.

“I’m not afraid to rock the boat,” he said.

Dr. Nick “Doc” Spirtos, medical director at Women’s Cancer Center of Nevada, previously ran for the board of regents six years ago. He’s currently on the community engagement board for the UNLV School of Medicine and on University Medical Center’s advisory board.

Spirtos said he’s from a Greek immigrant family, with 20-plus relatives who are also physicians. He said he has significant experience in academia and has been published numerous times.

Key issues

Boylan said he’s worried about the rising cost of student tuition and fees, and thinks on-campus parking should be free. “I’m just very concerned about the prices being graduated. They’re going higher and higher and higher.”

It’s a real difficulty for students, he said, adding he’d like to talk with state legislators and Gov. Steve Sisolak about allocating more funds for higher education, and would pursue private donations, too.

There are too many regents on the board, “but I would still work with all of them,” Boylan said, noting you can’t do anything by yourself. “You have to make concessions and you have to make agreements.”

Boylan said he also thinks there are too many higher education system and university administrators. “I think it’s too top heavy.” More people are needed in the classrooms and they deserve higher salaries, he added.

He said if he’s elected, he’d also look for ways to increase campus security, and teach students what to do in incidents such as active shooter situation or earthquakes.

And there needs to be a greater understanding within Nevada’s higher education system of the importance of scientific research and more advanced degrees — especially now due to COVID-19, he said. “I think that’s what helps us in the future.”

Child said higher education needs to be streamlined and more affordable so students don’t graduate with a large amount of debt. “We have to change certain aspects of how we teach higher education and put students into the workforce.”

Dual credit classes save money for students – especially, those who are economically challenged, he said.

Child also said he was a big proponent of career and technical education when he was on the Clark County school board, and pointed to other efforts while he was on the board aiming to help students who are English language learners and to teach financial literacy.

Spirtos said whether it’s a medical school, law school or university, “there’s an academic environment that needs to be created and frankly, at some point, demanded.”

He said the board of regents has a responsibility that goes beyond “just picking presidents of the school and leaving it there.”

Spirtos said it should be the board’s responsibility to fundraise and engage with prominent people in town to “convince them we’re on the right course that warrants investment in our future.”

He said he has “an incredible level of interest” in Nevada’s higher education system and has seen students leave the state for college. “Obviously, everyone would like to keep their best and brightest kids home,” he said, adding it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.

Also, “I have some grave concerns about the direction of the (UNLV) medical school and the mentality that we spend enormous funds on physical structures,” Spirtos said, adding he thinks the focus should be on recruiting top-notch faculty.

He said he’d also like to see more advanced degree programs offered that can be completed online.

COVID-19-related budget cuts

Sisolak has directed all state agencies to prepare for a 4 percent budget cut for fiscal year 2020 and 6 to 14 percent for fiscal year 2021. The board of regents approved reduction proposals in April.

Boylan said he’s aware of Sisolak’s directive. “I’m glad they’re doing that. But I really don’t appreciate the fact that they raise the price — even if it’s just $3 or whatever — for students.”

Child said the system would have to go to every school to see what they can cut, noting he’s “a budget hound.” All departments should utilize zero-based budgeting, he said.

Spirtos said he’s not sure what the exact budget cut proposals are and he hasn’t had an opportunity to look at the entire budget.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.