School board filings lagging

Two school board seats could go unfilled if candidates don’t file today. As of Thursday, the day before the filing period closes, districts 3 and 6 remained open.

“We’re getting a little nervous about this,” said Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover. “I find it very strange.”

If no one files for one or more seats, the vacancies will open in January. Candidates would then be appointed to the positions.

Glover said he worries about the democratic process in such a scenario.

“That’s not the way this is supposed to work,” he said. “These are not appointed positions; they’re elected positions.”

Candace Stowell, who was appointed to replace Barbara Myers for the District 6 seat in June, said she remains undecided as to whether she will file.

“I’m sort of 50-50 right now,” she said Thursday. “I’m probably not going to decide until tomorrow.”

Stowell, former Douglas County planning manager, was selected from among three applicants after Barbara Myers resigned halfway through her first term to care for her ailing daughter.

She said even if she does decide to run, she’d like to see more candidates.

“Obviously, the more the better,” she said.

Lynnette Conrad, who was appointed from a pool of 12 applicants in 2009 for District 4, said Thursday she wasn’t going to run. She replaced Robert Crowell, who resigned after being elected mayor. Jeffrey Cherpeski filed Thursday to fill Conrad’s seat.

Stacie Wilke said she’d hoped someone else would file for her District 3 seat, which she was also appointed to in 2009. She replaced Joe Enge, who resigned after his second alcohol-related arrest in a year.

“I was hoping a Latino would run,” she said. “My district is 80 percent Latino, and I thought it would be nice to have some representation on the board.”

Because no one filed, she said, she will submit her name today.

Glover said he hopes more candidates will come in.

“The school board is so important,” he said. “I would think the people in this community would want to be involved in how their children are educated.”

Incumbent Ron Swirczek filed to seek his District 1 seat, as did opponent Jim Bathgate.

Richard Stokes, superintendent of the Carson City School District, said interested candidates need not have children in school.

“The school district benefits so much from different people’s perspectives,” he said. “We really cannot operate without those folks.”