SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT A

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:35 a.m.

The Clark County School Board District A race is a study in contrasts.

Mary Beth Scow is a homemaker, a longtime community volunteer, the mother of nine students and the incumbent.

Isaac Farrell is past president of a computer company and owner of two Del Taco franchises who says his first job if elected would be to throw out the School Board's management style and replace Superintendent Carlos Garcia.

Scow is seeking her third term, and it's the second time she's gone up against Farrell.

"There are some things we've started, like policy governance, that I want to see through," Scow, 51, said. "We're starting to see some gains on our academic initiatives, as well."

"Policy governance," the management style adopted by the district about three years ago, calls for the superintendent to act as chief executive and be the only individual held personally accountable by the School Board.

Farrell, who was president of Scion Computers for 16 years and a certified network engineer, said policy governance should be dropped.

"It's a waste of time and a waste of money," Farrell, 56, said. "When a business isn't doing well, it's the CEO who's held accountable. And if that's Mr. Garcia, then he's the one who should lose his job."

Farrell said he also would fight to raise teacher pay and school funding.

Scow was the only incumbent not to receive the endorsement of the Clark County Education Association, which represents the majority of the district's teachers. Union officials declined to explain their endorsement except to say that Farrell's responses to their questionnaire had received higher marks than Scow's.