Clark County School Board members Child, Cavazos run for new terms
Two current Clark County School Board trustees — Kevin Child and Linda Cavazos — are hoping to keep their seats in November, while at least one newcomer will seek to join the board in a third race.
Child, whom Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky banned from schools over concerns on his behavior, has called for a closer look at the district’s finances following its multimillion-dollar deficit.
“I asked the hardest questions in the world,” said Child, who represents District D. “It’s about where the money is and how we spent it.”
Child also pointed to his work on the district’s sexual misconduct policy and on a suicide prevention committee. His other priority is addressing violence in schools, which has risen in the past few years, he said.
Though a district investigation claimed that Child created a hostile work environment and concern through his interactions with students and staff, he said he doesn’t think the accusations against him will affect his re-election. He called the accusations lies and fake news.
“People see what I’m doing,” he said. “My actions speak louder than words.”
Cavazos, a therapist who was appointed to the board in August to serve the remainder of former Trustee Erin Cranor’s term representing District G, has already begun collecting donations through a GoFundMe page. As of Monday, that page had raised $865.
Cavazos said she always planned on running to keep the seat — that was one of the questions the School Board asked candidates seeking to replace Cranor. She said serving on the board has been a learning experience.
“It’s been a challenge, a very steep learning curve,” she said. “I would say that probably the most enjoyable part of it has been visiting the schools, meeting the teachers, the kids, the principals, getting out into the community.”
One of her top priorities is to help students in struggling schools. Her other goal is to raise public awareness about school funding.
“I really, really want to get the constituents and the public more involved in contacting their legislators as far as our school funding, our per-pupil funding,” she said.
Cavazos, a former state Democratic Party officer who says she is still active with the Clark County Democrats, said people are donating to her campaign already.
Former Assemblyman David Gardner, R-Las Vegas, already announced his plans to run for the District F seat to replace Trustee Carolyn Edwards, who will have served the maximum three terms. Gardner, the only declared candidate for the seat, has raised $15,671 for the race so far in 2017, including in-kind contributions, the latest campaign finance report shows.
Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4630. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.