THREE SEEK POST ON CHAFFEE SCHOOL BOARD

Voters Tuesday will choose two of three candidates for the Chaffee R-2 School District Board of Education.

The candidates are incumbents Sharon Crowden and Robert Sullivan and challenger Gregg L. Ourth Jr.

If voters return Sullivan to his school board seat, he would enter his second full three-year term. Crowden is seeking her first three-year term after being elected last year to fill the one-year unexpired term of James Dooley, who died in a farming accident.

Sullivan, 55, works as a switching technician for Southwestern Bell. Ourth, 35, manages Chaffee IGA.

On Wednesday, Sullivan said there weren't any special projects he wanted to pursue, other than to see through the district's long-term building plan. The plan, started several years ago, involves the elimination of three buildings and is in its final phase, he said.

Sullivan said the final building to be eliminated is a multistory structure. An addition of extra classrooms, he said, will be built onto the existing high school building.

The candidate said he just wanted to "continue to do as we have in the past."

"We've got a good working relationship on the board now, and I'd just like to keep it that way. And I have no axes to grind. Everything's on a positive attitude."

He's a good choice for the board, he said, because he has business experience and has raised five children.

"I've been associated with the city of Chaffee and the school for the last 20 years." Also, Sullivan said, he's been involved with youth groups, summer baseball, and is president of the city's park board.

Crowden, 40, said she too would like to see through the fulfillment of the district's building plan. Other than that, she said she has no pet projects.

"I'm a parent and I care about what happens to the students," she said. "And I would like to see the students get the best education possible."

Crowden said she has been very active in the Parents and Teachers Association, of which she is president. She is also a member of the high school's Athletic Booster Club, a past member of the district's Parent Advisory Committee, and served on the district committee for surveying students about alcohol and drugs.

Last year, Ourth, also a member of the city's park board, ran for the school board seat won by Crowden.

If elected, Ourth said he wanted to offer and add as many school courses as possible to broaden the range of opportunity for students. "Of course," he said, "that's in accordance with the budget that's available."

Ourth said it was hard to say what he wanted to pursue without first getting on the board and seeing "the total picture."

As a candidate, he said, his strength comes from his business experience in dealing with large finances and in being involved with the city park board budget.

"I feel I can help out with the tight times..., the budget cuts," he said. "I thoroughly understand the system, having been through it 12 years myself. I've got two kids in there now."

Ourth said he graduated from Chaffee High School.

He also serves on the district's school advisory board, Ourth said. The board basically is now offering advice on grants for computers and home economics equipment, he said.

Ourth and his wife, Sue, have three children, 21, 17, and 14. The Crowden family is comprised of her husband, Gary, and the couple's two children, 20 and 15.

Sullivan is married to Janet Sullivan. All the couple's children are grown.