Randy Carlson, who was appointed to the Carson City School Board in December, said the district's priority should be to raise expectations.
"I'm on the board now and seek to be on the board in the future because I want to raise the bar," he said.
His experience as a consultant for
30 years in the space, medical and alternative energy industries serves him in the role of trustee, he said.
"I know how to lead people and get them to run an organization as opposed to telling them how to do their jobs," he said. "I know how to help people get things done."
He said he will do the same for the school district.
"We have great teachers and administrators and good academic performance," he said. "I don't think the board needs to tell teachers how to do their job. We need to tell schools what their job is."
He said the district has positioned itself well financially and will be able to withstand foreseen budget cuts.
The focus of the board, he said, should remain on student performance. He cited this year's implementation of the Positive Behavior Support program that includes uniforms at Carson Middle School as an example of raising student expectations.
He said his opponent, Barbara Myers, takes a different approach.
"She's always focused on meeting the minimum standards. That approach is going to fail our kids," he said. "I think we need to move away from focusing on meeting minimum standards to focus on getting all kids to perform to the extent of their abilities. If we do that, we'll meet the minimum standards and more."
He said more parents need to join in the effort as well.
"We need to engage the parents of this community to be more involved in their students' behavior," he said.
The board should also look to outside resources to enhance education, Carlson said.
"In this town, there are a lot of businesses and state agencies that are prepared to mentor students or give them real-world access to what they are doing," he said.
Good examples, he said, are the online tutoring programs offered through the Carson City Library and Nevada Department of Transportation's partnership with the Gifted and Talented Education program.
He supports the 2010 rollover bond, saying now is the prime time to pass one because the slow economy will mean lower interest rates and lower construction costs.
Putting it off, he said, will worsen the conditions of schools and cost more to fix the problems.
"It is in the best interest of the taxpayer to do the bonding now," he said.