Four newly elected school board trustees all have children in the schools.
With newly elected trustees Erinn Miller, Melinda Gneiting and Markus Zinke, a majority of the Douglas County School Board are parents with children in the district.
The new trustees believe being parents can make a difference in regaining trust throughout the district.
The three will take their seats beginning at Tuesday’s school board meeting at the Airport Training Center.
Miller, Gneiting and Markus were elected in November and sworn in, along with trustee Yvonne Wagstaff, during the Douglas County’s swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 2 at the Douglas County Community & Senior Center.
Miller, Gneiting, Zinke and Wagstaff all have children in Douglas County schools, from elementary to high school and graduates. Each have been active parents in the education of their children, volunteered at the schools, been involved in clubs, and helped coach sport teams.
“I saw an opportunity to give back to the community and schools that have been an influence in my kids’ lives,” Gneiting said. “My greatest hope as a community is that we move forward and do what’s best for our schools.”
Zinke is coming on to the board hoping to give a voice back to the parents.
“I understand we will have different opinions, and those opinions might have different routes; but in the end we all have a common goal,” Zinke said. “I will certainly be a good liaison to the board and the people of the community, with the district, the faculty, students, and stakeholders and to listen to all parties and come together for the common good.”
Miller hopes to see more programs become available to students and to showcase what opportunities are already provided in the district and what could be.
“People don’t realize what great opportunities our schools provide from CTE programs, the fire program, robot science projects, and more,” Miller said. “We need to find those programs that our teachers are passionate about and provide those opportunities to our students so our kids can experience more and find out what they are passionate about.”
Each wants to rebuild trust throughout the district and with the community.
“I’m excited to start building our community with trust,” said Miller. “I think that has gotten away in the last couple of years. I’m excited for our community to know what is going on and now with four parents on the board, we are going to try and make sure that happens.”
One of greatest challenges facing the school board and the district is the budget.
“Open meeting law violations, the decisions of the board, and the past is going to affect us,” said Zinke. “The sooner we find legal counsel will show us a better understanding of where our budget is.”
The three new members have been working with Superintendent Frankie Alvarado and receiving training to better understand of what to expect on the board.
“We’ve gotten to know the communities well, how things work, and are coming in with a good idea of what to expect a little better,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of hard things coming, but hopefully it all works out.”
During the board meeting the trustees will discuss, nominate and take action on the positions of Board President, Board Vice President, and Board Clerk for the new year and appoint representatives for committees and boards.
The board meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Airport Training Center.
