Northwest Arkansas school board races set for spring

In this file photo Tim Hudson (left), executive director of the Washington Regional Medical Foundation, visits  Leah Jones, director of operations for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma.
In this file photo Tim Hudson (left), executive director of the Washington Regional Medical Foundation, visits Leah Jones, director of operations for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma.

The Fayetteville School Board's longest-serving member will face an opponent in his bid for a fourth term, one of several school board races set for this spring in Northwest Arkansas.

The one-week filing period ended Wednesday with 33 candidates running for 24 seats in school districts in Benton and Washington counties.

Candidates

The following is a list of seats on each Northwest Arkansas school district’s board of education that are up for election this spring, the term length the election winner will receive, and who filed to run for each. An asterisk after the name denotes an incumbent.

BENTON COUNTY

Decatur

• Zone 1, two years of unexpired term: None

• Zone 3, four years of unexpired term: None

• Zone 5, five years: Ike Owens* (write-in)

Gentry

• Zone 1, five years: Michael Battenfield, Gary Dunlap*

• Zone 5, three years of unexpired term: Jim Barnes* (write-in)

At-large Position 6, five years: Coye Cripps*, Melissa Holland, Larry Scribner

Gravette

• Position 3, five years: Tracy Moorman*

Pea Ridge

• Position 4, five years: Mindy Cawthon, John Dye*

Rogers

• Zone 1, three years of unexpired term: Robert Phillips*

• Zone 4, five years: Aaron Cash, Amy Horn*

Siloam Springs

• Zone 1, five years: Grant Loyd*

• Zone 5, one year of unexpired term: Travis Jackson*, Bobby Reed

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Fayetteville

• Zone 5, five years: Dwight Gonzales, Tim Hudson*

Farmington

• Position 2, five years: Jeff Oxford*

Elkins

• Position 2, five years: Bryan Delozier*, Donnie Warren

Greenland

• Zone 4, five years: Patrick Anderson*

• Zone 5, five years: David Bercaw

• Zone 7, four years of unexpired term: Aaron Wood*

Lincoln

• Zone 1, five years: Tera Thompson*

• Zone 2, one year of unexpired term: Kenneth Albright*

Prairie Grove

• Position 3, five years: Matt Hargis, Harley Hunt, Brian Walker

• Position 6, five years: John Dobbs*

Springdale

• Zone 3, five years: Debbie Creek*

West Fork

• Position 2, five years: Duchess Allen, Amanda Harderson

Source: Staff Report

There will be races in the Rogers, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs, Pea Ridge, Gentry, Prairie Grove, Elkins and West Fork school districts. Twelve candidates are unopposed. Elections are scheduled for May 21.

While some seats represent specific zones within a district, other seats are at-large and thus represent the entire district. Candidates must be qualified voters and live in the district or zone for which they're running. Board zone maps can be found on each school district's website.

Tim Hudson, who's represented Zone 5 on the Fayetteville board since 2004, will have to defeat Dwight Gonzales to earn another five-year term.

Hudson, 55, is executive director of the Washington Regional Medical Foundation. Gonzales, 39, is a ninth-grade science teacher at Fayetteville Christian School.

This is Gonzales' second time running for an elected office. He was the Republican nominee for the state House District 85 seat in 2016. He received 47 percent of the vote but lost to incumbent Rep. David Whitaker.

Gonzales has seven children. Education has always been a big deal for him, and he sees room for improvement in the Fayetteville schools, he said.

"I think our focus should always be on how we're teaching and trying to prepare students to be well-rounded individuals who can be contributors to society and help make Northwest Arkansas a better place," Gonzales said.

Hudson said it's been a privilege to serve the district. He's proud of the education his two sons received while attending Fayetteville schools.

"I'm still excited about the district's business and the work of educating all the kids who come to us and doing my part to further that cause," Hudson said.

Zone 5 is a small section of the southwest part of the district between Interstate 49 and South College Avenue, including downtown and the high school.

In the Rogers School District, Amy Horn will go for a second term against Aaron Cash. She ran unopposed in 2014 for her Zone 4 seat, which represents a southwest portion of the district.

Horn, 37, is a former teacher who has been director of His House Preschool in Rogers since 2010. She has children in the third and fifth grades in the district. She loves the schools and wants to be a cheerleader for what they're doing, she said.

As the parent of a dyslexic child, she said she watches to make sure all students get the services they need, regardless of their abilities.

Cash, 31, is a lawyer with the Herrera Law Group in Rogers. He has two children who are 2 years and 10 months old.

Cash, whose father is a teacher, said it's important to him that education come before anything else the schools do, including athletics.

"We need to take a hard look at where we're spending our money and make sure education is the priority and make sure we put teachers and students first," he said.

In Springdale, Zone 3 representative Debbie Creek didn't draw a challenger. Creek, 43, was appointed to the board last year to replace Kathy McFetridge, who left to accept an appointment to the Arkansas Board of Education after 27 years on Springdale's board.

McFetridge's term was due to expire this year, so Creek will receive a full five-year term. She is a controller for Harps Foods.

Siloam Springs will have a race for its Zone 5 seat between Travis Jackson and Bobby Reed. Jackson was appointed to the board in August to fill the seat left vacant when Brent Butler resigned. Reed was one of three others who applied for the position at that time. The winner of the race earns the right to serve the remainder of Butler's term, which expires in 2020.

In Decatur, incumbent Ike Owen was the only person who filed to run for any of the three seats up for election. Owen filed as a write-in candidate. Superintendent Steven Watkins said earlier this month he expected Owen and the other two incumbents, Karen Davis and Kevin Smith, to file.

The board will have to appoint people to fill the other two seats once the election passes; those two seats will come up for election again in 2020.

Pea Ridge board president John Dye is pursuing his second term. Mindy Cawthon is challenging him for his Position 4 seat.

Three longtime board members in Gentry are pursuing additional terms. Coye Cripps, who's served since 2007, will face challengers Melissa Holland and Larry Scribner in the at-large Position 6 race, while incumbent Gary Dunlap faces Michael Battenfield for the Zone 1 seat. Jim Barnes, who's in his 18th year on the board, filed as a write-in candidate and is running unopposed for his Zone 5 seat.

In Prairie Grove, Matt Hargis, Harley Hunt and Brian Walker are competing for the Position 3 seat. One of them will replace Jerry Coyle, who opted not to run after 10 years on the board.

Elkins will see a contest between board president Bryan Delozier and Donnie Warren for the Position 2 seat. Delozier has served since 2004.

In West Fork, Duchess Allen and Amanda Harderson are vying for the Position 2 seat. Board president Brad Hardin, who holds the seat, didn't file to run.

NW News on 02/22/2019

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