Assemblyman Pat Hickey tapped to fill seat on state Board of Education

Former Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, who announced his retirement from the Nevada Legislature last year, will serve on the State Board of Education and fill the seat vacated by late member Dave Cook.

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced the appointment Tuesday and in a news release stated Hickey officially resigned his seat in the Assembly earlier in the day. He will serve on the state board through January 2017, according to the release.

"Pat Hickey has served as a dedicated public official who has always strived to improve Nevada's education system," Sandoval said in a statement. "He was one of the earliest champions of charter schools and academic standards and has always sought a meaningful balance between investing in and reforming our education system."

In 2013 and 2014, Hickey served on a task force that identified ways to improve the state's school finance system, which had not been revised in nearly five decades, according to the news release.

Hickey has been serving on a new Spending and Government Efficiency, or SAGE, commission charged with studying how to cut costs in public education. That 12-member body began meeting last month.

On Tuesday, Sandoval also announced the appointment of Allison Stephens, Clark County's representative on the Nevada System of Higher Education, and Teri Jamin, a trustee for the Douglas County School District, to the State Board of Education.

Stephens will replace outgoing board member and fellow NSHE Regent Kelvin Melcher. Jamin, who currently sits on the state board, will continue to serve as the representative for the Nevada Associated School Boards.

Both will serve as nonvoting members of the state board through January 2018.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton