Gent, Hendrix, Hyde and Schank capture CCSD school board seats

There will be a familiar look to the Churchill County School District Board of Trustees after incumbents Rich Gent, Clay Hendrix, and Carmen Schank retained their seats?

Newcomer Matt Hyde also won a seat, while incumbent Nona McFarlane finished fifth.

Gent has been selected for a third term while Hendrix has been selected for his second. Schank will serve her first full term after being appointed to the board three years ago to fill the remaining term of Dennis Gailey and was elected two years ago.

Schank led the way with 4,904 votes followed by Hyde with 4,738. Gent received 4,675 votes, and Hendrix rounded out the field with 4,370.

McFarlane had 4,218.

Hyde was happy with the win.

“I feel great about this win,” he said. “It isn’t easy to beat an incumbent but I worked hard to get my views out there and I look forward to working with the rest of the trustees. I felt pretty confident during campaigning and I feel that people are ready for a change. I was surprised to see that I came in second for the highest votes. I thank everyone who supported me.”

Likewise, Hendrix said he was pleased to finish in the top four.

“I’m excited I got re-elected,” Hendrix said. “I didn’t do too much campaigning but I think people saw the positive changes I made in the district so I think my record really spoke for me. I think it will be interesting to have Matt on the board. We’re going to have to figure out our dynamics with him joining, but I think things will go good.”

All of the candidates agreed that their hands were tired when it came to Common Core. It is a state mandated program that provides funding to the school and if the school doesn’t support the standards the funding could be lost.

The candidates’ also echoed support for gun rights but strongly believed that teachers should not be allowed to carry them in schools.

Gent has a background as a naval intelligence officer and currently works as an intelligence subject matter expert for Fallon Tactical Training Ranges. He said safety and security of students and schools is one of his top priorities. He would also develop plan of action to reduce the loss of students to other forms of education venues and explore how to leverage community knowledge and expertise to our vocational and college bound students.

Hendrix said as an attorney he brings his legal training and experience to the position. He has assisted other trustees to understand and analyze legal issues. He also actively works to identify projects that benefit both the district as an organization and the students. He said he plans on getting technology into the schools so it can enhance educational opportunities teaching skills. He said the budget is another issue that is important to him and plans on seeing things fixed.

Hyde is a native to Fallon. He has worked at CC Communications for 17 years and has volunteered countless hours in many different clubs and coaching positions throughout these years. He said important topics for him are budget, faculty morale, and working to establish a strong parent teacher organization in every school. He would like to make sure all students who wish to go to college are better prepared to take that step and wanted to assure students with the best education possible.

Schank is a lifetime resident of Fallon and attended and graduated from Churchill County schools. She taught in the local schools for 20 years: music, art and third-grade. She said has had a lifetime passion for education and wants all our students to have the very best education possible.

She serves on the policy committee and the safety and legislative committees and experience working on the board with budgets and curriculum.