FORT SMITH (KFSM)--Early voting for the Fort Smith School board election began on Tuesday (September 7).
Three seats on the board are up for election.
Yvonne Keaton-Martin is running unopposed, but incumbents Russell Owen and Rick Wade are both running against challengers.
Wade Gilkey is running against Russel Owen.
“So many things that have come through that have really distracted us from the true purpose of why our kids are in school,” Gilkey said. “What we as adults and school board members and members of the community is what's best for those kids.”
Gilkey said a main reason he is running has to do with his children. If elected, he would be the only member of the board with children in public school.
Candidate Bill Hanesworth, running against Rick Wade, also has children in the Fort Smith school system.
“I have two kids in school, and I’ve been to school meetings and parent meetings, and it's personal, "Hanesworth said. "Then it morphed into something much bigger once I began to talk to people and said, ‘Wow, maybe we have a lot of things here we need to be thinking about.’"
Hanesworth said that it is time for change and for schools to evolve.
'This has changed everything in terms of education,” Hanesworth said motioning to a smart phone. “Kids learn differently today. We need to embrace this and find out how to use it to motivate kids that maybe aren't motivated.”
Both candidates said if elected they hope for more transparency by the school board and more focus on teacher and student needs.
“The first thing we're going to do is find out where the money is going,”Gilkey said. “We're going to figure out a way to get more of that money back directly into the classrooms.”
Rusell Owen was unavailable for comment, but incumbent, Rick Wade said this could be the toughest election he’s face.
This will be the eighth school board election Wade has run in. He said of those elections, he’s only had an opponent in three of them.
'I think I’ve been very productive,” Wade said. “I think I still have a lot to add, and the school district has a lot of things to look forward to in the future.”
Wade is hoping for re-election for his 22nd year to serve on the Fort Smith Public School Board.
“I think this board is a progressive one,” Wade said. “It's a team, and so I think that in terms of wanting to be part of that team, that's why I’m running for re-election.”
Wade said he believes this election has earned some unfair attention because of a decision the school board made earlier this year
“That night that we voted 7-0, the thing that tugged at my heart strings, I listened to folks for what we were about to do, black and white,” Wade said. “I remember one police officer, Steven Dooley, talking about how he had adopted a couple of African American children and how he, as a dad, was going to have to explain these things to them.”
He was referring to the school board voting to ban the Southside mascot and fight song, andd said the attention that vote got will carry over into this election.
“I think there are some who got caught up emotionally in that old south thing that are going to turn out to vote,” Wade said.
He said that even if banning the mascot will affect the election, he's proud of the decision the school board made.
“I would hope as happens any time in history that when somebody stands up whether it's to integrate central high in little rock there will be brave people that say we stand behind you,” Wade said. “No matter what happens to me in this election i can tell you, i have 6 fellow brave board members.”
The general election will be on September 15, 2015.