Sheena Harvey and Brooke Westlake are competing for the District F seat on the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees, with campaign priorities that include elementary physical education, skilled trades training and the district's financial challenges. The winner will serve a four-year term ending in early 2031.
The nonpartisan seat is at-large and encompasses parts of central and south Reno as well as Sparks. The successful candidate will succeed Adam Mayberry, who won election to the Sparks City Council in the June primary.
Harvey lives in Sparks and has spent 24 years working at the University of Nevada, Reno. She currently directs the university's Fitness and Recreation Sports Department. Westlake, a Reno resident, is the director of sales and business development for a center providing assisted and independent living for seniors.
For Westlake, investment in skilled trades programs is a central campaign issue. She said students need access to different career paths, including opportunities that do not require going to college. In explaining that priority, she said Reno was set to double by 2030 and argued that skilled trades workers were urgently needed.
“Not every child is college-bound; that's okay,” Westlake said. She described the trades as a strong career option for those students, linking her support for those programs to both students' choices after school and the need for skilled workers.
Harvey is emphasizing stronger physical education programming for elementary students. She said some schools offer it, but it is not part of the curriculum. Her argument extends beyond children's physical development: she also pointed to the role such programming can play in social adaptation and building social capital.
Asked about the district's biggest challenge, Harvey identified the budget, particularly per-pupil funding. She described funding as low across the country and said the issue involves resources as well as money. She also stressed that schools have different cultures and student populations, requiring attention to how each is supported.
Westlake likewise raised financial concerns, saying the district needs to get ahead of recurring budget deficits. She also identified academic performance as a major challenge, saying test scores had ranked near the bottom for 20 years. Education reform, she said, is an important priority.
