Challengers seek School Board seats

The first wave of challengers for Clark County School Board seats is coming from within.

Edward Goldman, associate superintendent of education services, filed his candidacy for District A on Monday, pitting himself against three-term incumbent Mary Beth Scow for the southeast seat.

Scow also filed with the Clark County election office on Monday, announcing her intention to run for a fourth term.

School Board member Shirley Barber plans to step down at the end of her third term. Canyon Springs High School Principal Ronan Matthew filed his intent to run for the open District C seat on Monday.

Both Goldman and Matthew said they were motivated by a desire to improve education at a policy-making level. When asked if that reflects a level of frustration with the current board, Goldman said yes.

"I think that it reflects a frustration about moving things along and the belief that change starts at the top," said Goldman, 57. "That's the school board."

Matthew said his candidacy is rooted in two things: improving academic achievement and student safety. The Canyon Springs principal has been an outspoken proponent of trying new things to address those issues, and has often been frustrated by the slowness of district decision-makers in responding to his calls to action.

"Some people say I'm not a team player," said Matthew, 55. "But I'm not going to be a team player if the team is wrong."

Matthew is retiring this year after 30 years of service with the district. Goldman said he plans to retire if he wins the District A seat. That's in keeping with Nevada law and also with a 2006 advisory opinion issued by the Nevada Commission on Ethics in 2006, Goldman said.

In the 2006 decision, involving a district administrator seeking a board office, the commission found that the candidate "is not precluded under the Nevada Ethics in Government Law from campaigning for the position of trustee for the board."

However, the opinion continued, if that candidate is elected, a choice must be made either to continue in the job or take the board position. Serving as both a district administrator and a school board member might create the appearance or risk of conflict of interest, the commission said.

Goldman, a 27-year veteran of the district, said he doesn't believe that being a candidate for school board while serving as a top-level administrator will be problematic.

Scow could not be reached for comment Monday. She won her third term in office with 65 percent of the vote in 2004.

Both Matthew and Goldman are running as advocates for change, a position that the public might question since they're both veterans of the system. Both individuals said they've made the change that's possible from their positions.

Matthew has most recently worked to establish stronger partnerships with local law enforcement to increase student safety and lobbied unsuccessfully to install metal detectors at Canyon Springs, following this year's increased level of school-related violence.

Goldman said his efforts to improve education include introducing standard attire policies at schools, staggering high school start times so students can begin the day later, and laying the foundation for Global Community High School, which allows limited English speakers who've been in the United States for less than two years to gain language proficiency.

"The board makes policy," Goldman said. "Administrators just carry it out. I think I can do more as a policy-maker."

Contact reporter Lisa Kim Bach at lbach@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0287.