In March, all candidates for local and state office filed their intention to run for office, in everything from the Senate to the school board.

The 2022 Nevada primary election will take place on Tuesday, June 14.

* Early voting begins Saturday May 28 and ends Friday June 10.

The 2022 Nevada general election will be held on Tuesday, November 8.

* Early voting begins Saturday, October 22 and ends Friday, November 4.

Each contestant will be asked five questions relating to their position as part of Carson Now’s Five Question series.

Matt Clapham is running for Ward 3 School Board.

1) What is the biggest challenge facing our schools right now?

Teachers are not recognized for what they do. They are the ones who make this District what it is. These are the “boots on the ground”. The individuals who do the education. They do the daily work: teaching, grading, interacting, modeling and inspiring our children and youth to think for themselves. They prepare our children for their future.

In today’s society, especially in Nevada, there is not much support for the “boots on the ground” teacher. Many want to blame our teachers for what the children don’t learn, the shortcomings of the children or better yet, what they learn.

If society continues to blame teachers, it will push them away into other careers that recognize them for what they bring to the table. We need to partner with our teachers, encourage them, complement what they teach, and build on the strengths they pass on to our children.

2) In your opinion, what is the solution to this challenge?

As I said in Question 1, we need to partner with our teachers, complement what they teach, and build on the strengths they pass on to our children. As parents, we must continue our role at home. Take responsibility for what we control at home. Sit down with our children, read to them, read with them every day, challenge them and get them to think and talk about what they learn.

3) What is the best decision the Carson City School Board has made in the past year, and why?

The School Board is faced with many decisions. Over the past year, they have faced some extremely difficult issues to decide, and they will continue to do so. It is their role. But the thing I admire the most and would say is that their best decision doesn’t relate to any concrete subject. It is more about their decision to listen, to learn, to inform themselves and then to make the decisions that they need to make.

4) What in your background makes you an ideal candidate for the school board?

More importantly, I am a parent of two children in this district. I see the daily life of a typical student. I see the work their teachers put into it and what is the return on my child’s education. I am a regular parent like everyone else. What sets me apart from another candidate is the perspective I have from a juvenile probation perspective. I am able to see several aspects of the functioning of the education system. For example, teachers’ personal interactions with each student, how they teach with passion and love, how they treat the ‘troubled’ student as well as the ‘good’ student. I see the interactions of administrators with students and how they discipline, counsel, and mentor students who enter their offices. I have seen how the school board interacts and deals with “troubled” youth who, in an expulsion hearing, are offered another chance at success and allowed to stay in school.

5) What is the priority project or idea that you would like the school board to implement over the next five years?

The idea in which I would like to see our school board, the school district and our state legislative partner is the ability to engage parents in taking responsibility for their child’s education. Parents need to understand that they have the greatest impact on their child’s education and future. The idea that every parent would be responsible for having their child in school, prepared, ready to learn and doing it every day.

You can follow Matt on social media on his Twitter.