Document text
57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 29, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 29, 2005 Ashland election will reshape school committee Nine candidates are vying for four positions on the Ashland School Board, the most contested district races in the county’s May 17 election. A majority of the board could be replaced on election night. Two members are retiring and two incumbents seek re-election, leaving Heidi Parker as the member who isn’t campaigning. Ballots will be mailed today. Position 1 (4-year term) Ruth Alexander An author and elementary math tutor, Alexander, 61, ismarried and has two adult children. She has lived in Ashland for 17 years. Alexander said school closures, funding and reinstating some cut programs are important election issues. Advertisement Alexander, who has a master’s degree in teaching, said she has volunteered in Ashland schools for 17 years. Howard Miller A 62-year-old semi-retired veterinarian, Miller is married with three adult children. He has lived in Ashland 29 years. Miller said finding a way to adapt to change and improving communication will be key in this election. Miller’s children went through the Ashland school system, and he was a member of the high school site council for four years and led the group two of those years. Position 3 (4-year term) Chuck Keil (incumbent) Keil, 58, is semi-retired and chairman of the Jackson County Democrats Central Committee, an unpaid, volunteer position. He is married and has a 13-year-old daughter in Ashland schools, and has lived in Ashland for more than 11 years. Keil said stabilizing revenue and outlining long-term issues are important campaign concerns. Another priority is working on the Ashland Quality Education Model, which is under development and described as "a tool that the district can use as we make decisions about program, budget, and facilities planning in the near and not so near future," according to a letter Superintendent Juli Di Chiro posted on the district’s Web site. Mat Marr Marr, 24, is a student at Southern Oregon University and a native of Ashland. His brother is an eighth-grader at Ashland Middle School. Marr, a graduate of Ashland schools, said finding solutions to deal with Ashland’s changing demographics are an important campaign issue, as is open communication. Marr said the board should spend more time focusing on core education issues, such as reinstating foreign language in the elementary schools. Marr has been a member of the Ashland Youth Activities Levy Committee for two years and has been chairman for more than a year. Position 4 (4-year term) Sue Graham Graham, 56, is a bookkeeper and volunteer. She is married with two adult children and has lived 11 years in Ashland. Graham said communication between the school board and the community will be an important election topic, in addition to discussions about keeping Lincoln Elementary School open. A longtime volunteer in schools, Graham would like to see the school board better articulate the Ashland Quality Education Model. She said the board should work to facilitate discussions more than lead them and focus on communication and trust with the community. Amy Sager Patton Patton, a 42-year-old SMART reading coordinator, volunteer and mother of three kids in district schools, attended middle and high school in Ashland and returned in 2000. Patton said communication will be an important election topic. Other election issues include addressing the opportunities offered to Ashland students. District finances will also be important. Patton said she has been a school volunteer for 10 years and now works with the SMART reading program at Lincoln Elementary School, and has been active at school board meetings the past few years. Jim Teece Teece is a 41-year-old married father of two children in Ashland schools. An Ashland resident for 13 years, he is president and CEO of Project A, a local Web site developer. Teece said Lincoln’s closure is important, but budget issues will be the number-one topic. Teece sits on several boards, including the SOU Foundation board, the fund-raising arm of the university. He said he has "five key passions in life," and one is education. Position 5 (2-year term) Amy Amrhein (incumbent) Amrhein, 48, is a regional organizer for Jackson County Stand for Children, a national group with local chapters that lobbies for children’s issues, including education funding. She is married with two children in Ashland schools and has lived in Ashland 11 years. She said key election issues will include frustration about tight finances and how the community will deal with declining enrollment, as will open communication, which "has already come up between the board and the community." Amrhein got involved in school issues seven years ago. She ran the youth levy campaign in 2001 and has lobbied the Legislature for school funding. Michael Hays Hays is a 65-year-old retiree. Between him and his partner, they have five adult children. Hays has lived 1½ years in Ashland. Hays said the decision to close Lincoln and restrictions on future tenants will be an important issue this election, as well as distrust of the school board that has followed "inadequate public participation in major initiatives." Hays, who holds a doctorate and master’s degrees in English, a master’s in education and a bachelor’s in philosophy and English, has served on the district’s Merit Pay Review and Language Arts Curriculum committees. He said he has been a member of several other education-related committees and the PTO. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Advertisement s