BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 1

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:36 a.m.

A retired teacher and a college registrar will face off in November for the state Board of Education's District 1 seat in a nonpartisan race.

R. Dean Jeter, who spent 32 years teaching in Clark County, and Sharon Frederick, who works for a private technical college in Las Vegas, are both seeking the seat. Incumbent Theresa Malone chose to run for state Senate.

Frederick, 55, is making her first bid for public office. While the bulk of her work experience has been in secondary education, Frederick said she has seen firsthand the struggles of students who have not received sufficient educations.

Jeter, 59, said after more than three decades of teaching special education, he knows the challenges faced by Nevada's schools. He doesn't agree with a NSEA proposal that calls for the Legislature to raise the per-pupil funding rate to the national average, saying it would likely lead to higher property taxes and hamstring lawmakers.

There needs to be more communication between the state board and the public, especially since education spending accounts for about 50 percent of Nevada's budget, Jeter said.

"I'm told the state board race is a low-profile race," Jeter said. "If people knew the state board was spending half of their money, maybe they would be a little more interested in it."

In Northern Nevada, District 9 incumbent Barbara Myers, an elementary school speech therapist, will face David Cook, a community college professor and member of the Carson City School Board. Cook represented the district from 1997 to 2001, when he was defeated by Myers.