7 file for seats on school board

With only one day left to file, five candidates have entered the race for two seats on the school board, and two districts have only one candidate each.

Incumbent Randy Carlson, who was appointed to the board in December, filed Wednesday for District 6.

Filing for state and local races ends today.

"While serving on our school board, I have come to appreciate the high degree of competence and dedication to children's education that exists within Carson City schools, and I look forward to continuing to serve my constituents and our students," he said in a press release.

Deonne Contine, who applied for the open seat along with Carlson in December, also filed for the position Wednesday.

"Within the next 10 years, nearly two-thirds of all jobs will require a post-secondary degree," she said in a prepared statement. "Carson City students will likely face a challenging job market and even more global competition. Our kids simply don't have the luxury of enduring the status quo."

Two other candidates joined Robert Prater, who filed last week, in the race for the District 1 seat.

Norm Scoggin is prohibited by term limits from running again. He is now running for the Carson City Board of Supervisors.

Prater has served on committees over the past several years to help direct the school district, including the current master plan committee.

"I just want to see a continuation of what we're doing," he said. "We've got a lot to do in the future."

Julie Bushner and Tom Keeton both filed for District 1 on Monday.

Keeton has also served on advisory committees to the school district and volunteers 10-12 hours a week at Fritsch Elementary School.

"I am a product of the public school system, and I think they are an asset to any community," he said. "I think I can be of help to the community and the school system to keep what is already a good system and make it better."

Bushner is operations director for Food for Thought and mother of two children in the Carson City school district.

"After moving here two years ago from Phoenix, I just noticed a big difference between the schools they were in there and the schools they are in here," she said. "I looked at the alternatives, but there are so many opportunities we can do with the schools. There are excellent programs we could do that wouldn't cost us much money."

Incumbent Lynnette Conrad filed Thursday for her District 4 seat as did Stacie Wilke for her District 3 seat.