Carson City School Board: Cacioppo, Crossman elected to school board

Mother of five, Laurel Crossman, was elected Tuesday to the Carson City School Board along with Joe Cacioppo, father of three.“I’m excited about it,” Crossman said. “I’m looking forward to bringing the voice of a parent to the school board.”Crossman received 65.89 percent of the vote, over Donnie Moellendorf’s 34.11 percent. Moellendorf dropped out of the race last month, but too late to remove her name from the ballot.Crossman will step into the District 2 seat to replace Jim Lemaire who decided not to run for re-election after serving eight years on the board. Cacioppo, a civil engineer, beat opponent Alice Mueller by a 55.17 percent to 44.83 percent margin.“I’m looking forward to getting involved,” Cacioppo said. “I’m looking forward to adding some good, informed, intelligent discussion to the issues we have to deal with.”Cacioppo will take over the District 7 seat, replacing Joanna Wilson who has reached her term limit after 12 years.He has volunteered with the Carson City School District since 1999, serving on three bond advisory committees and two master plan committees. Crossman volunteers in her children’s classrooms and has served on the parent-teacher association.Both served on last year’s Strategic Advisory Committee, which outlined a plan for the community to be more involved in the schools.“I think the community wants to see that implemented,” said Crossman, a 1991 Carson High graduate. “I’ll make sure those goals set forth and that plan isn’t just a piece of paper.”Cacioppo said the largest issue facing the board will be the looming $5.5 million budget cuts. “There’s going to be some difficult things we’ve got to consider,” he said. “I’d sure like to find a way to minimize the number of people this affects.”Steve Reynolds, president of the board, ran unopposed for his District 5 seat and was re-elected during the primaries.Candidates will take office in January.