Three seats on the Austin School Board are up for grabs in the upcoming election. Voters will have the chance to pick from six candidates when they go to the polls Nov. 6.
The top six candidates out of nine moved on from the Aug. 14 primary election: Incumbent Richard Lees, 946 votes, 18.75 percent; Mary Jane Kestner, 899 votes, 17.82 percent; Carol McAlister, 805 votes, 16 percent; Don Leathers, 762 votes, 15.1 percent; Kathy Glowac, 571 votes, 11.32 percent; and Bruce Quitmeyer, 305 votes, 6 percent.
Glowac said she would like to be part of making sure the district continues on its path of remaining fiscally sound. She also would like to see the level of academic excellence remain high, not wanting to see if go down due to budget cuts. She retired from the business office in Austin Public Schools in December 2011.
"I've already shown the ability to work within the school district," Glowac said. "I know these people. I know a lot of them."
Kestner is a long-time resident of Austin with her husband and seven children. She wants to do something positive for the kids in this area and wants to work with other people who have that same interest, she said.
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"I'm one of those people, I'm a doer," Kestner said. "I really have a big interest in the kids."
Leathers is a retired educator and an Austin native. He's seen the city change demographically over the years and sees welcoming and integrating new individuals into the town and school as an extra challenge. He said he thinks he will bring the perspective of positivity to the board.
"I like young people," Leathers said. "It's kind of a cliche, but they are our future."
Lees has served on the board since 1994. He was a teacher for 35 years and said he thinks he can still contribute to the board. His "experience could be useful in the next few years," Lees said.
McAlister ran for a school board seat in November 2011. She said she has the desire to serve the community by contributing her time, talents and passion to make the schools in the district the best they can be.
Quitmeyer has three young children, with two in Austin Public Schools. He's lived in Austin for 10 years and works at Nielsen Co., consulting at Hormel Foods Corp. The construction of the new I.J. Holton School and development of the new science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics curriculum for that building are two of the most important issues he sees with the district right now.
"I think those are two very important issues that will have kind of a longer term affect on education in the city," Quitmeyer said.
