2024 General Election: Carson City School District Board of Trustees, District 5

Ashliee Saucedo

 

Ashliee Saucedo  

Occupation: My occupation is Owner of High Desert Home Care serving the Northern Nevada Communities for in home care. Hiring employees for people in their own home and managing clients care with a NonMedical License.

Age: 28. 

Contact: Anyone can contact me via email, williasaucedo@aol.com CC’d ashliee@highdeserthomecare.com or 775-499-1234, my business phone number between 8:30A and 5P Monday-Friday.

Record of service:
I have not been involved in the PTA volunteer or the staffing of the Carson City School District. Though I have served the community in the realm of Home Health, solving issues, working together for solutions and filtering complaints. I’ve completed High School and received a High School Diploma. I’ve invested in my Certified Nurses Assistant license, current for 7 years. I also invested in CPR Instructor Course and completed that, current for about 4 years now. Finally I have invested in building a PCA (Personal Care Agency/non-medical) business to serve those in the community, helping people with care and employment. 

A brief statement about your platform
The Trustee position is directly related to receiving community feedback. Being an advocate for the public and the parents of the children that attend the Carson City Schools. The public expects the Trustee to receive the opinions, complaints, feedback and desires of change in specific categories. The public expects some action and communication back on their feedback in some form. Any member of the community can reach me at my emails or business number. I believe in a documentation system for incoming information, tracking information/ tasks, information going out and completed tasks. 

What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position
I would be good in the trustee position of the Carson City School District because of my background. I also have a child that attends an elementary school here in Carson City. I want to help be an advocate, resourceful and find solutions. I would bring a new perspective, new voice, I also can relate to those who have children in the school system. The biggest issue right now is children attending school. There might be outside factors that are not in the schools control, though to help with some “credits” or “hours” to count as attendance (engagement in school work) is an app. This is the first generation that kids have more technology available to them, mostly everything today is paperless. The children would have a mixture of hands on, in person, technology, at home, and much more. So many ideas on how to help this issue, maybe it's something different than using technology. People working together for other people gets the job done. On the topic of biggest issue of the school, would take someone to receive the communities feedback and collectively put solutions in place.

Michael B Walker

 

Michael B Walker

Occupation: Educator
Age: 50
Contact: Email: mbwalknv@gmail.com; mikewalkernevada.com

Record of service:
Carson City School Board since 2016: Served as President, Vice President, and Clerk.
Nevada State Board of Education Member: Appointed 2020
Nevada Association of School Boards: Current President-Elect, Vice President, and Board of Directors. Mentor of newly elected school board trustees in Nevada.
Food for Thought: Past President, and current member of board of directors

Education:
University of Nevada, Reno: Ed. S. in School Administration, M. Ed. Elementary Education, B.S. Elementary Education
Truckee Meadows Community College: A.A. Degree

Briefly describe the core duties of the position you are running for
The board ensures students have access to and receive a high-quality education. Trustees have oversight of finances and set budgetary priorities. Through the leadership of the superintendent, the board is also responsible for the academic achievement of the students and overall well-being of the educational programs in the school district.

A brief statement about your platform
The educational system of Carson City has given us a great deal to be proud of. Our schools celebrate impressive graduation rates, maintain Carson City School District Board of Trustees, District 5
 curriculum programs, and our educators work in a supportive environment. I am running to ensure we maintain and continue to improve on this productive environment. Our students deserve the best educational programs we can provide, and our community requires us to prepare tomorrow’s leaders with the skills necessary to navigate our changing world. There are initiatives happening at the state and national level that could really change what education looks like in our district. Portrait of a learner programs could move us towards a competency based educational system and influence the types of career and technical education offerings available to our students. The state invested generously in our school the past legislative session; however, that increase in funding is just the beginning of the level of funding that will be needed to adequately fund our educational programs. As an experienced educator, I have an understanding of these issues and can work with my colleagues on the board and the school community to enact sound policies to improve our schools and educational practices.

What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position
First and foremost, I am an experienced educator. I have worked in this school district as a teacher, school administrator, and school trustee. I also have experience working at the Nevada Department of Education as a Title I Education Professional and as the state coordinator of homeless education. I’ve been an appointed member of the state board of education for the past 4 years. My extensive work at both the state and national levels has given me a deep understanding of the needs and direction of public education. Specifically, I have worked closely with the pacific region, which includes trustees from Alaska, Utah, Oregon, and Washington, advocating for public education. Through my involvement with the Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB), I have championed these efforts across the state, and I currently serve as the president-elect of NASB.

What is the biggest issue facing the school district and what is a possible solution?
Teacher and Staff Shortages are the biggest issue facing our school district currently. One of the main reasons for this is because people are not going into this field in high enough numbers. There is not much we can do about the lack of people going into the field of education other than continue to support and encourage this career through “grow your own programs” and pre-service education programs in our high schools. We also need to maintain strong partnerships with colleges and universities running these programs. We are starting to see the benefits of these programs as our former students begin to return as teachers. The school district has also partnered with iteach to provide on the job training, for individuals with a bachelor’s degree, through and alternate route licensure program. In addition to attracting new educators and support professionals, we must also retain the professionals already in service. We retain our employees by having an effective school system that is responsive to the needs of our employees.
In the Carson City School District, we pride ourselves on the relationships we maintain with our employees. There is a shared respect that tends to translate into positive work experiences. I would argue that happy people aren’t typically looking for new jobs. Another way to retain our employees is to make sure that our wages and benefits are at a level that allows families to support themselves. The reality is that Carson City is an expensive place to live on a starting teacher’s salary or support staff salary. As a trustee, I will continue to advocate for increased funding for our school systems and focus on maintaining a positive environment to work in.