Billionaire on board

When the super rich enter the political ring, they typically skip the starter offices and beeline for the big time. Governor? Maybe. The U.S. Senate and the White House are more likely pursuits.

So it will be interesting to see how billionaire Elaine Wynn functions as the newest voting member of the decidedly low-profile State Board of Education. Last week, the ex-wife of Las Vegas gaming titan Steve Wynn was appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval to the panel that sets statewide education policy, establishes curriculum and graduation standards and oversees Nevada's forthcoming teacher evaluation system.

She likely never would have joined the board if not for reforms approved in 2011. The current board, with 10 elected members and a student representative, will be dissolved in about two weeks. The new board will feature four elected members - one for each congressional district - three appointed voting members (Wynn now among them) and four appointed nonvoting members.

When it comes to education advocacy, no one in Nevada can match the clout and purpose of Elaine Wynn. The Wynn Resorts board member is a philanthropist, a champion of child welfare and a major player in the education reform movement. In 2010, she was appointed by Gov. Jim Gibbons to co-chair the state's Education Reform Blue Ribbon Task Force. She's also the founding chairwoman of Communities in Schools of Nevada, which works with businesses and nonprofits to get additional resources to the schools that need them most.

But advocacy is one thing. Voting on matters that affect every teacher and child in the state is another.

For starters, advocates aren't obligated to answer to the public. As a voting member of the State Board of Education, however, Wynn will be newly accountable to taxpayers. That she wasn't elected this fall is irrelevant - her vote will be worth as much as the votes of the elected members.

Will Wynn make herself available to parents and the public? I tried to reach her last week to ask, but my calls weren't returned.

Then there's the matter of her relationship with her fellow board members. Will she be their equal, or will she have disproportional influence?

According to campaign finance reports filed with the secretary of state's office, this year Wynn was a big contributor to two newly elected members of the State Board of Education: District 1 winner Alexis Gonzales-Black and District 3 winner Allison Serafin. As best as I could determine, Wynn was the biggest donor to both women.

Through herself, Wynn Resorts and Wynn Las Vegas, Elaine Wynn gave Serafin $22,000 and Gonzales-Black $12,500. An additional $10,000 contribution to Gonzales-Black from Wynn Resorts was removed from the record in an amended report. That's big-league money for an office almost nobody knows anything about.

I know what you're thinking: Politicians give money to other politicians all the time, especially at the congressional and legislative levels. But there's a big difference between Sen. Harry Reid handing out dough to Democrats and Elaine Wynn donating in State Board of Education races. Reid acts as a middleman, collecting donations from some people and transferring that money to others. Wynn was handing over her own money, from herself and her company. That's her own stake, not someone else's.

I think Wynn will be terrific on the board, as will Gonzales-Black and Serafin. The panel still serves important functions, and Wynn's presence will boost its profile. The more people pay attention to the nuts and bolts of education policy, the better.

But the board will offer dynamics we don't often see in Nevada politics. Stay tuned.

Glenn Cook (gcook@reviewjournal.com) is a Review-Journal editorial writer. Follow him on Twitter: @Glenn_CookNV. Resuming Jan. 7, listen to him Mondays at 4 p.m. on "Live and Local with Kevin Wall" on KXNT News Radio, 100.5 FM, 840 AM.

Columnist Steve Sebelius will return Jan. 4.