JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS RE-ELECTED

JACKSON -- Three Jackson Board of Education incumbents retained their seats in Tuesday's voting, one of them only by a hair.

Dr. T. Wayne Lewis received 1,468 votes, Vicky McDowell received 1,388 votes and Darrell Hanschen received 1,148 votes.

Challenger Tom Ludwig came closest to winning a spot on the board, bringing in 1,121 votes Tuesday and another 14 in absentees. He only lost by one in regular voting.

Candidate Ron Lowes came in a distant fifth with 663 votes.

It was Hanschen's third election and his closest. The Fruitland resident was elected in 1990.

"You had five people running who could have done an excellent job," Hanschen said. "We weren't talking about major differences in policy."

Incumbent Lewis said the voting indicated Jackson school patrons are satisfied with the work current members are doing.

"We feel that we have a lot of work in front of us," he said. "It is exciting that the people are ready to continue with the growth we're experiencing.

"There didn't seem to be any major problems out there people were concerned about. We just want to get the job done with Dr. Jones and the rest of the staff."

Tuesday's election was far different from Lewis' first in 1987. He ran against several other candidates, winning his seat by only 14 votes. The Jackson dentist has served on the board longer than any other candidate.

Minutes after McDowell found out she won the school board election, she started talking about another round of voting scheduled in August. Voters will be asked to pass a bond issue for a new math and science building at Jackson High School.

"I appreciate the support in this election, and I will be happy to serve three more years," McDowell said. "The community also has been very supportive of the school system, and I fully expect they will support this bond issue."