Lexington 1 School Board Candidates Make Case for Office

Nine of 12 candidates for Lexington School District 1 board of trustees met Thursday night to share with voters why they were the right person to fill one of four seats on the November ballot.

Experienced leadership either on the board, in the schools or on their job were some reasons the candidates said made them qualified for office. 

Incumbents Cynthia Smith and Dr. Edwin Harmon have both served on the board since 2000, and pointed to their history of leadership and experience with the district.

Newcomers at the forum were Anthony Feraci, Dr. Brent Powers, Jean Haggard, Rutu Bhonsle, Deb Kelderman, Ted Zee and Janet Frazier. 

Toyeka Campbell, Hazel Porth Duell and Rhonda Wannamaker Gunter did not attend the event.  

Some of the candidates seeking their first term in office said they would be a "watchdog" for the people and strive for transparency as well as be fiscally responsible.

"I am the watchdog. I decided to run this race so that not only can I watch over the education of the children and help the teachers and the parents ... but I can watch the dollars going out," Kelderman said. 

Feraci and Zee also said they would monitor spending with Zee saying he would work to keep the district's millage "in check."

Zee also said he wanted to find better ways to track students through high school to keep them on track for graduation.

There were also a couple of questions concerning a pilot grading system, teacher merit pay and class scheduling. 

On whether teachers should receive merit pay based on student performance, Powers said that pay formula was a "slippery slope."

"In general, I would not support individual merit pay for a teacher," Powers said.

Powers said he didn't have a problem with "putting merit dollars at play," but the decision needed to be made at the local school level. 

Overall, all candidates said they wanted to continue the district's reputation for excellence and focus on the needs of the students to prepare them for the future. 

The last forum will be held at Lexington Middle School on Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on each candidate, view their profiles here.