2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Board of Education District 1

The State Board of Education race for District 1 pits a former teacher against a longtime Las Vegan and retired union worker.

Alexis Gonzales-Black was a high school earth science and biology teacher in North Carolina from 2007 to 2009. She moved to Las Vegas in early 2011 to recruit teachers in high-need districts, including Clark County, for Teach for America.

First on her list of priorities is "making sure we have great teachers and leaders in our schools." This can be accomplished, she said, with an improved evaluation system that includes more in-class monitoring from administrators and more feedback.

Next, she has her sights set on testing and graduation rates, something her side gig as an efficiency exam tutor opened her eyes to. She would like to see the kind of changes to testing that opens doors to colleges. She said she thinks this also is key in reducing the number of Clark County School District graduates requiring remedial college courses.

Fixing the pipeline to secondary education requires a better start, Gonzales-Black said, which requires more access to free early education. It's the main concern she hears from Nevada parents and one of the key points she hopes to address as a board member.

It's a big problem, she said, when "kids can show up to first grade with no prior education."

The way her opponent Forrest Darby sees it, the brunt of the state's education problems comes down to not funding it adequately. "To do so," he said, "we'd need to raise taxes on someone. ... It's just a balancing act. You raise it through additional taxes."

Darby also would like to see some changes with the board itself, referring to the one meeting he attended as "one of the most sterile things" he ever saw.

He'd like to see an open exchange of ideas among board members prior to the regularly scheduled meetings. The public would be invited to observe, but not to speak. It would strictly be a time for the board to discuss the issues in a public forum.

As far as those he would work with as a board member, Darby said he saw state Superintendent of Public Instruction James Guthrie appear on a local news program to discuss education in Nevada.

"He and I may have some differences," Darby said.

On the other hand, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers retiree calls his opponent "really smart and nice." He said she's so great, his only real advantage might be that he's lived here longer.

Darby is a 27-year Las Vegas resident.

Contact reporter Xazmin Garza at xgarza@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0477.