The school elections

Tuesday’s a big day for area schools. It’s election day. At stake is who will lead the districts in Las Vegas, Mora, Pecos and elsewhere into the future.

At this juncture, we have two hopes: One is that you’ll take the time, if you haven’t already, to cast your ballot. The other is that the Optic, through its reporting, has helped to inform and prepare you to make the most responsible decisions regarding the contested races for school board positions and bond requests that the districts are placing before you.

Just in case you’ve lost track of who’s running for what, here’s a quick rundown:

In the West Las Vegas Schools district, incumbents David G. Romero and Christine Ludi are running unopposed.

For the Las Vegas City Schools district, incumbent Ernesto Salazar and challenger Sean Medrano are running for Position 1 on the school board, while Luis Ortiz, Alexis Mamaux and Carlos A. Perea are vying for the Position 5 seat and Gabriel V. Lucero is running unopposed for Position 2 on the board.

At Pecos, incumbent Michael R. Flores is being challenged by Debbie Gilmore for Position 4 on the school board, while Patrick Sandoval, Jonathan A. Martinez and Rima R. Varela vie for Position 5.

At Wagon Mound, candidates for Position 5 on the school board are Eldie R. Cruz and Andy B. Martinez. Tony P. Rubin and Benito F. Armijo are running unopposed for positions 1 and 4.

And at Mora, competing for school board seats are Angelo Vasquez and Victoria Lovato for Position 1; Jacob L. Regensberg, Shelly H. Rains and Melvin O. Vigil are vying for Position 2; and Robert Sena is running unopposed for Position 4.

As always, important issues face each and every school district, so who fills these positions is quite important. We hope you will weigh the issues against the candidates to determine who is best prepared to lead.

Teachers and parents are on the “front lines” in educating our children, but when it comes to policy, big-picture leaders are needed to set each district on the right course.

Choose wisely, voters. The future depends on it.