School Board

The League of Women Voters of Northern Nevada, in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Forums and American Association of University Women, has announced a series of election forums to be held Sept. 22 through Sept. 30 in Carson City. The forums will present both candidates for races and ballot proposition questions that will be on the ballot for the general election on November 4. The public is invited to attend these forums, which will be held at the Carson City Community Center, Sierra Room. Doors open at 5:30 and the forum begins at 6:00 each evening.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Nevada, in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Forums and American Association of University Women, has announced a series of election forums to be held Sept. 22 through Sept. 30 in Carson City.

The forums will present both candidates for races and ballot proposition questions that will be on the ballot for the general election on November 4. The public is invited to attend these forums, which will be held at the Carson City Community Center, Sierra Room. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum begins at 6 each evening.

It was a night of firsts and lasts for the elected Student Council members of Carson High School. The formal inauguration took place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the banquet room at the governor's mansion in Carson City and wrapped up at about 7:40 p.m.

The hour and forty minutes was filled with plenty of drama and excitement. Carson High School holds a very high standard in regards to its Student Council. The council has received the silver star award, the most prestigious of all awards within the state of Nevada Student Councils, ten of the last twelve years.

At the general meeting and finial candidates forum held on April 24, 2014, held at Silver State High School, the members of the committee voted to endorse the following Republican candidates for 2014 elections.

After a quick general meeting, the last of the pre-primary Candidate Forums will be held April 24, 6:30 p.m. at Silver State Charter High School, 788 Fairview Drive in Carson City. This month's forum will consist of:

The budget plan for next year will likely be to maintain the status quo, Superintendent Richard Stokes told the Carson City School Board during its meeting Tuesday evening.

The Carson City School District Board will discuss, among other things, the Race to the Top Grant and the Jump Start to College program when it meets Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m in the Sierra Room of the Community Center, 851 E. William Street.
See the agenda below.

On December 12, 2013 in coordinated efforts with the Carson City School Board and Board of Supervisors, the Library Trustees unanimously adopted Level Up, a strategic plan for learning 2014 – 2019, the library’s next five year plan.

“An educated, skilled citizenry will secure our future. The integration of the strategic plans and the exciting partnerships/collaborations demonstrate that collectively, community leadership gets it. We welcome the challenge and look forward to the possibilities,” said Library Trustee Chairwoman Sandy Foley.

The final 35-minute Common Core Powerpoint presentation of 2013 will be tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the BRIC on 108 Proctor St., in Carson City beginning at 5:30 p.m.

After the presentation there will be questions, and a Common Core discussion. The public is welcome.

Several students from the Carson City School District will be recognized Tuesday for their submissions to the 2013-2014 American Citizen Essay Contest.
The students will be honored beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center.

Among the winners are Vidhi Pandit, a 5th grader at Bordewich Bray Elementary School. She submitted the winning elementary school essay below that was passed to Carson Now by her proud parents, Girish and Dr. Su Pandit of Carson City.

During the third annual Connect Nevada Broadband Summit held at the University of Nevada, Reno, the Carson City Library was named Connect Nevada’s 2013 Broadband Hero.

The summit theme, Learning in the Digital Space, was designed to promote access, adoption, and use of broadband in education. In collaboration with Governor Sandoval’s Nevada Broadband Task Force, Connect Nevada is working to bring the benefits of universal broadband to the state.

UPDATE: The Carson City Board of Supervisors will meet jointly with the Carson City School Board beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 13. From the Community Center’s Sierra Room, located at 851 E. William St., the 12 elected officials will discuss the school district’s strategic plan, Empower Carson City, and meaningful linkages to the City’s initiatives related to education and lifelong learning.

(Editor's Note: The following is from Ken Beaton of Carson City about the death of his friend Bob Thomas, who died Saturday. Funeral arrangements are pending. Thomas was a retired high-tech industrialist who served on the Carson City School Board, Nevada Welfare Board and Carson City Airport Authority and was a state Assemblyman. He also wrote a column for the Nevada Appeal.)

The word last leaves a bad taste in my mouth. One exception is after an intense workout our aerobics instructor says, “This is the last exercise before we stretch and leave for the day.”

The Carson High School Band and Choir Ensembles earned big awards in Bay Area competitions earlier this month. The ensembles will be recognized at the Carson City School District board meeting, Tuesday, April 23 at Carson High School Senator Square; 7 p.m.

Interviews are under way to begin hiring the staff needed to implement the $10 million Race to the Top grant in the Carson City School District, the school board was told Tuesday.

Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes will provide a "State of the District" presentation to the school board when it meets tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the Community Center, 851 East William Street.

Board members will also hear an update on the Race to the Top grant by Dr. Steve Pradere and get an update on trending education issues in the Nevada Legislature.

An update on Nevada Legislature bills and an informational update on an improvement grant for Eagle Valley Middle School are among items on the Carson City School Board agenda when it meets Tuesday.
The regular meeting of the board will be Tuesday, 7 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William Street.
See the agenda below.

by RILEY SNYDER

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about myself during my very short career in journalism, it’s that I love to cover politics. Over last summer, I did everything from arguing with editors at my internship on the value of driving hundreds of miles to cover a candidate’s stump speech, to doing some of the area’s only coverage on school board elections, and live-tweeting City Council meetings for hours on end. I have an insatiable appetite for covering elections, governments, and everything in between.

As Prepared for Delivery Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013:

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers, Senator Heller, honored guests…...

Carson City Mayor Robert Crowell, beginning his second term, and two supervisors elected to first terms were sworn in Monday along with two judges and three school board members.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he has appointed Elaine Wynn to the state Board of Education, effective January 8, 2013.

The Carson City School District was among 16 winners of federal grant money from the The U.S. Department of Education's 2012 Race to the Top-District competition.

The Carson City School District will receive a share of the $400 million grant, around and up to $10 million, to support locally developed plans to personalize and deepen student learning, directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness, close achievement gaps, and prepare every student to succeed in college and their careers.

"This is wonderful news for Carson City's students, teachers and parents" said Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. "As someone whose life was transformed by teachers, I understand the importance of providing all Nevadans with the opportunity to receive a quality education. While I wish that other school districts in the state were also awarded this grant, I know these funds will help put Carson's students on a path towards success."

Including a nearly $3,000 salary cut for himself and plans to lay off about 30 employees, Superintendent Richard Stokes outlined the initial budget proposal during Tuesday's school board meeting to fill an anticipated $5.5 million shortfall.

Mother of five, Laurel Crossman, was elected Tuesday to the Carson City School Board along with Joe Cacioppo, father of three.

Final: 9pm update: Election night coverage for Carson City; 100 pecent of precincts reporting including early voting and absentee for Carson City races:

Carson City Board of Supervisor Ward 2
Brad Bonkowski 10781 votes; 53.90
Dennis Johnson 9221votes 46.10

Carson City Board of Supervisor Ward 4
Jim Shirk 10,335 votes; 50.06
Molly Walt 10,310 votes; 49.94

Carson City Question 1
Yes 7,3274 votes; 31.77
No 15,622 votes; 68.23

Carson City School Board District 2
Laurel Crossman 12,317 votes; 65.89
Donnie Moellendorf 6,377 votes; 34.11

School District 7
Joe Cacioppo 10,610 votes; 55.17
Alice Mueller 8,622 votes; 44.83

Justice of the Peace Department 1
Tom Armstrong 13,873 votes; 69.65
Michael Bell 6,045 votes; 30.35

Assembly District 40
Pete Livermore (R) 12,773 votes; 57.16
Rich Dunn (D) 9,574 votes; 42.84
See full list below.

An issues and candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters will be at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Carson City Library Auditorium. There will be a presentation by candidates for Assembly District 40; candidates for the school board and a discussion on the merits of Nevada's Ballot Question 1 that, if passed, would change the state's constitution and allow the Legislature to bring itself into special session.

This information is in response to several recent letters to the editor that have proposed the consolidation of libraries in Carson City. Our goal is to provide our community a better understanding of the types of libraries in Carson City. It is true there are libraries who serve the public in Carson City, but Carson City Library is the only “public library.” The other libraries are not “public libraries” and here is how they differ:

Local politics gets into full swing when the Carson City Chamber of Commerce will host its Soup's On Supervisor Candidate Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Featured at the luncheon will be the contestants for the Carson City Supervisor Ward 2 race, Brad Bonkowski and Dennis Johnson and Ward 4 contestants incumbent Molly Walt and Jim Shirk. Questions will be fielded from the audience.

The forum will be at Gold Dust West, 2171 U.S. Highway 50 East in Carson City. The cost is $15 per person in advance and $20 at the door. RSVP by Oct. 19. Call (775) 882-1565. See the flier below.

Two candidate forums will take place in Carson City next week. Hosted by the League of Women Voters, the first is at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 at the Carson City Community Center. The topics are Question 1, the proposed City Center project for downtown Carson City. Following the pros and cons discussion of Question 1 there will be a Board of Supervisors candidate presentation for the two seats.

Carson City Supervisor Ward 2 Candidate Brad Bonkowski will hold a Meet and Greet Fundraising event Thursday, September 13th from 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Mi Casa Too Restaurant on North Carson Street. The public is invited to come and meet Bonkowski and ask questions about the issues facing Carson City. A $20.00 donation includes appetizers and a margarita or beer.
Former candidate and School Board Trustee Stacie Wilke McChulloch will also be on hand to announce her endorsement of Bonkowski in the Ward 2 race.