At a Carson City Chamber of Commerce event May 17, 2022, Senate District 16 candidates Monica Jaye Stabbert, Tim Duvall, Lisa Krasner, and Don Tatro all spoke to the challenges of improving K-12 education in Nevada.
Photo by Faith Evans.
Republican candidates for Nevada Senate District 16 agree: improving education is one of the top challenges facing the state.
At a Carson City Chamber of Commerce forum Tuesday, Tim Duvall, Lisa Krasner, Monica “Jaye” Stabbert, and Don Tatro all said that they are up for that challenge.
“I believe that the problem is that we need more, number one: parent involvement, number two: we need school choice,” Krasner said.
Krasner is the current assemblywoman for district 26, spanning parts of Reno, Washoe County, and Incline Village. She said that funding is not the issue. She wants the competition of a school choice program to stimulate improvement in schools.
“I’m so tired of our kids being last,” she said.
Stabbert honed in on another angle.
“The state has too much control in the county schools,” she said.
She proposed splitting up large school districts and reallocating funding toward schools. She said the state government wastes money on initiatives like the Office for New Americans – money that should go to education.
Stabbert has had a 30-year career in the media industry in Northern Nevada. She works primarily in radio and hosts the Monica Jaye Show.
Tatro is currently filling the district 16 seat. He was appointed in November to replace Ben Kieckhefer, who resigned. Tatro is a mortgage broker in Reno, and he serves as the president of the ACE High School Board, which he said gives him a sharp perspective on education in Nevada.
“I went to public schools. I appreciate public schools, and I think they serve a great need. We need to make sure they’re adequately funded,” he said.
He also advocated for school choice and vocational training for students.
On the other hand, Duvall said that he wants to address the problem earlier. He said he would like to focus on reading and arithmetic programs for younger children. If elected, he said he would donate his salary to early childhood reading programs.
“We need to take those early grades … and teach them until they hit 75 percent of grade level, and don’t allow those curriculums to change,” he said. “The Legislature can work with the school boards and make sure that’s implemented.”
Duvall owns Neo Medical in Sparks. His company develops critical-care products for children and infants.
Duvall, Tatro, Stabbert, and Krasner will all be on the Republican primary ballot. The top candidate will go to the general election in November to face Democrat Aaron Sims, who previously served as the vice chairman for the Carson City Republican Party and ran for mayor of Carson City in 2020.
Early voting starts May 28. Election Day is June 14.
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