Voters elect 2 CCSD trustees formerly tied to book banning group
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – After the election of four new trustees, there will be a shake-up at the Clark County School District Board of Trustees starting in January. Two of them were once tied to a controversial group seeking to ban books. "I have resonated with a lot of parents because I am in fact just reflecting all of their concerns," Lorena Biassotti said.
She won the race over Kamilah Bywaters in Tuesday's election to represent District E on the district's school board. Biassotti's journey to the dais was unconventional. She went from being kicked out of school board meetings during the pandemic to now sitting among its members. She described her winning as vengeance, but also as a clear mandate from parents. "It's a valid concern that parents have regarding the safety of their kids and the ideologies that their kids are being exposed to," Biassotti said. Biassotti and Lydia Dominguez, who also won her school board race, were both part of the local Moms for Liberty chapter up until the summer when they announced their split. 8 News Now has interviewed the two new trustees before on Politics Now. "Some of these books just do not belong in the classroom. They don't belong in the libraries," Dominguez said on Sept. 10, 2023. Dominguez defeated Eileen Eady to represent CCSD's District B, a seat once held by Katie Williams who resigned in Sept of this year after an investigation revealed she lives in Nebraska. Dominguez outlined her priorities on Thursday.
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"We are just here for our kids and putting our kids' best interest first. It's not going against any group," Dominguez said on Thursday. These four trustees will be tasked with hiring a new superintendent. CCSD, the nation's fifth-largest school district, has been without a permanent superintendent since Dr. Jesus Jara was forced out in Feb. of this year.
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Dominguez said she would be looking for certain qualities. "Somebody that's data-driven. Somebody that has leadership experience, not necessarily in public education," Dominguez said. Emily Stevens is also joining the board, she isn't affiliated with Moms for Liberty. "We desperately need professionals that will be on this board and be able to ask the hard questions," Stevens said. She will represent District A after defeating Karl Catarata on Tuesday. Stevens has a background in banking, but she said she has her eye on school safety. "A lot of our educators don't feel empowered in their classroom to be an authority figure, to be able to say this is the boundary. You can't cross this boundary," Stevens said. CCSD's school board is comprised of 11 trustees. Four are non-voting, appointed trustees while the remaining seven members are able to vote. In the four of seven, voting board seats that were on the ballot, three of the incumbents declined to run for re-election. The one who did seek re-election was Board President Evelyn Garcia Morales, she lost to Tameka Henry.
