Rachel Dahl
Celestia Blakey was unanimously chosen by the Churchill County School District Board of Trustees at their last meeting, after interviewing four candidates, to fill the seat being vacated by Matt Hyde as he takes his new position on the county commission next week.
Trustees failed to fill the vacancy in November during their first process when Keith Boone, Joe Frey, and Darin Hammer applied. The board locked in a tie vote—first over Boone, and when that failed, Frey was nominated, but that vote also resulted in a tie. Under Nevada Revised Statute, the outgoing trustee (Hyde) is prevented from participating in the process to fill the seat he is vacating, which leaves six trustees to vote. The board then decided to reopen the process.
In this round, there were six applicants, with Boone and Hammer staying in the process and being joined by Steve Russell, Rick Martin, Eileen Haugen, and Blakey. Russell withdrew his application prior to the board meeting, and Boone was traveling and unable to attend the meeting when interviews were held.
Blakey is a small business owner who runs Dandelion Express and Hotwire Electric with her husband, Eric, who was elected to the county commission and will begin his term next week along with Hyde. She previously worked for the school district in the middle school office and was the secretary/dispatcher for the transportation department, also working in education services, where she gained experience with grants and budget preparations.
“My interest in this position is derived from the desire to help build upon the strong foundation that the current School Board of Trustees has created over recent years,” Blakey said in her application.
Hammer has served for the past 25 years as the senior deputy at the Churchill County Juvenile Probation Department, involved with many programs that serve the youth of the community. He has taught classes at several schools, led community service projects, and speaks regularly in Career and Technical Education classes, sharing information about careers in law enforcement.
“I bring knowledge from a different perspective and have a vested interest in improving positive student outcomes,” he said.
Haugen is retired with 30 years of teaching experience in the district and has continued as a substitute teacher for the past seven years. She has contracted with the district on several special projects, remaining connected to the district and working with new initiatives, including Modern Teacher and the new Savvas curriculum. Haugen is familiar with district policies and understands their essential role as the foundation for a teacher’s responsibilities.
“I was pleased to see the adoption of several new policies and many much-needed revisions. The updates reflect the board’s commitment to addressing the evolving needs of the district, staff, and students while also aligning with state and federal regulations,” she said.
Martin is retired, with 20 years in the casino industry and over 20 years in administrative positions with the Washoe County School District, where he had oversight of multiple operational divisions. He has done consultant work with the Churchill County School District and was involved with local Boy Scout Troop 1776. He has lived in Fallon for the past 18 years.
“My interest in this position is based on one premise: how can we better engage our students in appreciating learning through critical thinking, innovation, and community collaboration, while helping them to be well above proficiencies in their math, verbal, and written skills?” he said in his letter of interest.
After interviews, with each candidate being asked five questions in a 12-minute period, board President Gregg Malkovich asked each board member to rank their top two choices in no order. Joe McFadden, Kathryn Whitaker, and Julie Guerrero-Goetsch all chose Blakey and Martin as their top two, with Amber Getto, Wendy Bullock, and Gregg Malkovich choosing Blakey and Haugen. After some discussion, Blakey was nominated and unanimously chosen as the new trustee.
Whitaker expressed gratitude to all the candidates, saying, “We received excellent insight and perspective from all the candidates, and I appreciate your willingness to serve. I want to remind you that the election is in two years. If you really want to commit, we always need good members of the community and hope you’ll consider that when filing opens.”
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