A newcomer and the incumbent are vying in the Nov. 3 election for a position on the Nevada State Board of Education District 4.

Newcomer Dr. Rene Cantu advanced from the primary election on June 9 with 35.8 percent of the vote following a very tight race with fellow candidate Mark Newburn, who received 35.3 percent of the vote.

Cantu was a member of the Clark County Board of Trustees, representing District E in Nevada. He assumed office July 19, 2012, and left office later in 2012. Cantu was born in Laredo, Texas, and obtained a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Texas at Austin in August 1986. He also obtained a master of fine arts and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Cantu’s professional experience includes working as the executive director of both Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates Inc. and the Latin Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation. He was the vice president of multicultural affairs for the Nevada State College from 2003 to 2009. As of 2020, Cantu is a board member of the Nevada Commission on Post-Secondary Education.

During a pre-primary statement, he said, “My experience has helped me to understand the education system, good and bad. Specifically, I am very knowledgeable about where the public education system works, and where it fails our students and our families. I am running because I want to be a part of the solution to our educational challenges.”

Learn more about Cantu at https://www.cantu4nevada.com/.

Incumbent Mark Newburn is a current member of the Nevada State Board of Education, representing District 4.

Newburn was first elected to the board in November 2012, was reelected in 2016, and serves now as vice president of the board.

His current term ends on Jan. 1, 2021.

Newburn advanced from the primary election in June trailing Cantu by only five tenths of a point, 35.8 to 35.3.

As the founder of visualization technology firm Vizics, Inc., Newburn has spent over 30 years in the technology industry. In the past, he has served on engineering advisory boards for Northwest Career and Technical Academy and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. As of November 2017, he was the chairman of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas Computer Science Department Industry Advisory Board.

Learn more about Newburn at http://mark4education.com/.