Trustee Carey Kangas, Superintendent Frankie Alvarado, Doug Englekirk, and Linda Gilkerson at the Dec. 10 school board meeting.
Photo by Sarah Drinkwine.
The last school board meeting of 2024 bid farewell to three board trustees, Linda Gilkerson, Carey Kangas, and Doug Englekirk.
“Your service to the district has been tremendous,” said Superintendent Frankie Alvarado. “Thank you all for you attention to detail, your attention for students and I really appreciate all of the work you put in.”
Englekirk was elected to the board in 2020 to the seat vacated by Keith Byer.
Kangas was appointed to the board July 12, 2017, filling the vacant seat for the Gardnerville Ranchos and part of Fish Springs area left by Neal Freitas.
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve as a board member of the school district,” said Kangas. “The past seven and a half years have been challenging, sometimes more than I expected, but at the same time always rewarding. I will miss being a part of the school district and I hope I have served the community well.”
Gilkerson was elected to the board in 2016, but has worked for the Douglas County School District since 1999. She began volunteering in the classrooms when her oldest son started kindergarten and has been a substitute teacher, and mentor. She has also been involved with many committees and organizations throughout the community, including Tahoe Youth and Family Services, Suicide Prevention, the Parks and Recreation Advisory committee, and more.
“It’s been truly an honor, an honor to be elected, and to be trusted,” said Gilkerson. “I have to say that every day when I got up and looked in the mirror, I always knew that my decisions were always what’s best for the kids. In my heart I felt that.”
Gilkerson and Kangas are both certified public officials.
“The amount of training it takes to get those certificates takes a lot of dedication and commitment,” said Alvarado. “I don’t think the public understands how much time it takes to be a board member. There’s a lot of meetings, a lot of attention that we have to have according to different aspects of the organization and so much learning that has to take place. Thank you to each of you for the time you have spent here on the board.”
Executive Director of Human Resources Jeannie Dwyer also thanked the trustees.
“It is a lot of dedication and we appreciate you and we appreciate the advocacy and the work you do for our students, all of our staff, and the support that you have for all of us,” said Dwyer. “The last couple of years have been trying and you guys have showed up every single time and really tried your best to be there for our students and our staff, so we appreciate you.”
Gilkerson said she feels confident that the new board members and the remaining members will unify and move forward for the best interest of the district.
“I feel like I can walk off into the sunset, because I know our district is in good hands with our new board members that were elected,” said Gilkerson. “I want to congratulate our new board members. They are smart, they are all parents with kids in the schools and I believe they are doing it all for the right reasons and I am thrilled that you will be our new board. My hope is, that you’ll be able to all come together as one, I think that is important to be successful. And I wish the entire board a good transition into the next year.”
Kangas also wished the incoming board members well.
“Be true to who you are, be independent thinkers, and always put the students first,” he said.
Erinn Miller will fill the position for Englekirk, Melinda Gneiting will fill Gilkerson’s seat, and Markus Zinke is taking Kanga’s seat during the next board meeting scheduled for Jan. 14, 2025.
The County will host a swearing in of all public officials at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 2, 2025.
