Voters on Tuesday elected Sandra "Sandi" Campbell over incumbent Jon "J.T." Zakrzewski to the Zone 6 seat on the North Little Rock School Board and chose to keep incumbent Scott Teague in the Zone 5 seat over Patrick Lander.
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Complete but unofficial results for the Zone 5 race were:
Teague 185
Lander 162
Complete but unofficial results for the Zone 6 race were:
Campbell 310
Zakrzewski 259
The Pulaski County Election Commission will meet Sept. 26 to certify the vote totals, the prerequisite for the successful candidates to be sworn into office.
School Board terms in the North Little Rock School District are for three years and are unpaid.
The board-elect members take their seats during a challenging time for the 9,000-student district. The district is in the midst of a $265.5 million capital improvement program that will reduce 21 campuses to 13. The district is also navigating the loss of $7.6 million a year in desegregation aid that will end after the 2017-18 school year.
Additionally, the state approved about $27 million in aid for school construction, which is less than the $66 million that was initially sought.
In the Zone 6 race, newcomer Campbell, 69, won 54.48 percent of the votes over 38-year-old Zakrzewski -- who has served as the Zone 6 representative since 2011 and as board president since last year.
Campbell, who retired from the district after 35 years as a registered nurse, said Tuesday that the election was a "very interesting process."
"It was one of those things; you really couldn't tell. The guy [Zakrzewski] is quite a lot younger than me. I ran an old-fashioned campaign with mail outs and knocking on doors. I really think that made a difference," Campbell said.
Campbell raised $3,118 for her campaign and spent $3,098 as of the reporting deadline. Zakrzewski reported $1,125 in contributions and a $1,250 loan to himself. He reported expenditures of $1,209.
Campbell said Tuesday she is ready to take her place on the board and will focus on putting students first, retaining and compensating teachers, and bringing "accountability and transparency to our leadership."
"I want to thank the parents and patrons of the North Little Rock School District for the confidence they have in me," she said. "I promise to put everything forth that I promised as much as I possibly can."
Zakrzewski said Tuesday that he "isn't going anywhere" and will be back in three years to run for election to the Zone 6 seat.
"There were two different messages being put out there. Obviously folks agreed with one over the other," he said.
Zakrzewski, an electrical engineer, said that he plans to "stay fully knowledgeable of what's going on in the district," attend board meetings and remain involved in his childrens' schools.
"I hope they continue to move forward," he said. "They have an awful lot on their plates. They just need to keep their heads above water, keep the construction project moving and bring new things to the district."
In the Zone 5 spot, 9-year board member Teague won 53.31 percent of the votes over Lander.
Lander, 30, the executive pastor at First Assembly of God North Little Rock, said he talked to Teague on Tuesday after the election results and offered his commitment to the district.
"I will still be very involved and active in the district. I am looking forward to supporting him [Teague], cheering for him and helping our district be the best in the state," Lander said.
Teague, 48, said Tuesday that he is glad the election is over and he's "ready to get down to business."
"I appreciate how my opponent ran his campaign. He's a fine person and he's obviously done a lot for our school district," he said. "It will be nice to focus on school business instead of the election."
Lander raised $2,481 for his campaign and spent $2,314 as of Sept. 8. Teague listed contributions of $500 and expenditures of $627.
Teague, a banker, said he will continue on the path he's on with the capital improvement project and addressing the loss of desegregation funding.
"We've got to get ahead of that and be more proactive rather than reactive," he said. "I'm moving in to my tenth year. There's a fair amount of continuity in how I operate and what I'm doing next."
Also on the ballot, North Little Rock voters supported the existing millage.
The complete but unofficial results were:
For 628
Against 333
Even though the district was not requesting a millage increase, the state constitution requires that it be on the ballot. No matter how the vote turned out, the existing millage rate would remain at the current level anyway. But the returns are sometimes viewed as a gauge of public support or dissatisfaction with a school district.
Metro on 09/17/2014