Cyndi Loza

From following the heart to providing an educator’s point-of-view, candidates running for the Washoe County school board vary on their reasons for running in District E.

Opposed in the Tuesday primary are product developer Scott Kelley, business administrator Denny Martindale and Carol Silverberg, a part-time college English instructor and former casino dealer.

The district includes northwest Reno, Verdi and Mogul.The term is four years and the pay $750 a month.

Silverberg said she is the best choice because she is a part-time English instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College and the University of Nevada, Reno and has a doctorate in education.

“I think we need more people involved in education (on the board),” Silverberg said.

Electing a non-educator “would be like having a shoe salesman on a medical board,” she said.

School districts are facing massive budget cuts ordered by the governor due to declining sales and gaming taxes.

Silverberg said she hasn’t followed the state’s economic difficulties. Once elected, “I’ll have the facts about everything,” she said. “That’s what research is all about.”

She said she supports raising teacher salaries, particularly with a merit-based system that rewards teachers that successfully educate students. Silverberg said she doesn’t know how to measure teaching success or fund the initiative.

Kelley said he wants to inspire and work with parents and students in the community.

“My heart has been leading me into education,” he said. “I guess it sounds a little sappy but it’s true. I just felt there was really good opportunity to do some good things there.”

Kelley said he wants the district to work within its budget, including expanding programs such as the Education

Collaborative’s Partners in Education. The program pairs local service organizations and businesses with Washoe schools to help provide the schools assistance in areas including sponsorship, volunteers and financial assistance.

“I think the school district is going to have to rely on the community more than ever before during this economic recession,” Kelley said.

Martindale said he has the experience the district needs as the director of business development for Clark and Sullivan Construction and former president of the Education Collaborative.

“As we go through these difficult times I have both the business and education experience to look at the balance that we need from business aspect of it as well as the educational aspect,” Martindale said.

Martindale said he also wants to push for more vocational programs. “I think we need to educate students at the highest level possible so when they graduate the 12th grade they have options as to either going on to college or moving into the business world,” he said.