BRAD HORN/Nevada AppealBoard of Education member Bob Crowell gives a 'thumbs up' at a Carson City School Board meeting earlier this year. Crowell will be resigning effective Jan. 5 to take over the job as mayor.
After 11 years on the Carson City School Board, Bob Crowell issued his letter of resignation effective Jan. 5, the same day he will be sworn in as mayor.
"That way, there is no break in service and no break in representation," he said.
The school board will decide at its Dec. 9 meeting when to begin accepting applications for Crowell's replacement.
The board will then interview finalists and appoint a new member.
Crowell, who was appointed to the board in 1996, was elected mayor of Carson City on Nov. 4.
"I'm looking forward to being mayor and looking forward to a new challenge," he said. "But there's a big part of my heart that is with public education. That's not going to go away."
Crowell moved to Carson City from Tonopah when he was in the fourth grade. His was the first class to attend all four years at the new high school " which is now Carson Middle School. He served as student body president and graduated in 1963.
Carson City schools, he said, prepared him for law school and his service as a Navy captain.
"They didn't do me bad," he said.
However, in the 1990s he noticed the community "had a bad taste" after a construction project had gone awry and the school district ran into financial problems.
So Crowell decided to get involved.
Since then, the school district has balanced its budget, including an ending-fund balance each year. Since 2000, voters have approved $47 million in school bonds.
Crowell credits his fellow board members, school employees and the community for the success.
"People here know the value of education," he said. "The community stands behind the public education system, and I'm very proud of that."
His experience on the school board, he said, will help him be a better mayor.
"It has been very beneficial to go through the governmental accounting and budgeting process," he said.
He plans to work closely with the school district to develop joint-use agreements with the city as well, he said.
Trustee Joanna Wilson said Crowell will be missed.
"Bob is always a sane voice in the middle of chaos," she said. "He really pays attention to the small things in the bigger picture. He often sees the trees as well as the forest."
However, she said, the city will benefit from his transition to mayor.
"I can't imagine you'd find a better guy," she said. "He loves this town. He'll take care of it."