Carson City man seeking seat on state board of education

Carson City resident Dave Cook said Nevada needs to find a way to improve education while spending less.

"I support our governor in holding the line on taxes," he said. "I'm running for the State Board of Education because it's time to have a sober, adult, non-hysteric approach to buckling down and doing the hard work that's required within the constraints of expected revenues at current tax levels."

Cook is running for Nevada State Board of Education District 9, which includes Douglas and Carson counties and part of Washoe County.

"I want to increase opportunities for schools to use alternative educational programs such as partnerships with local colleges, magnet school and charter schools," he said. "This will make our tax dollars go further."

Cook said he opposes No Child Left Behind and any unnecessary bureaucracy that takes money away from classrooms.

"It has become obvious that the burdens placed upon our public schools by No Child Left Behind are not worth the money we get from the federal government," he said. "I want our teachers to be free in their own classrooms without the constant interference that 'No Child Left Behind' creates."

Cook spent 19 years as an economics teacher at Western Nevada College. He said he's served on the Carson City School Board and the Nevada State Board of Education from 1996 to 2000.