Seven candidates will be on the ballot for four positions on the Crook County School Board in the upcoming election.

Four of the five members of the Crook County board represent defined geographic zones — northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest — arrayed around the intersection of Third Avenue and Main Street. All voters in the school district vote for candidates from each of the zones, as well as for the fifth “at large” position that is open to candidates living anywhere in the school district.

Due to the midterm resignation of two prior board members, candidates in Zones 3 and 4 will be running for two-year terms rather than the usual four.

The board candidates will be sharing the ballot with a $33.5 million bond request from the Crook County School District to construct a new elementary school and upgrade existing schools.

Two of this year’s races are uncontested. Current board member Scott Cooper is unopposed in the race for the Zone 2 seat. Walt Wagner, a two-time candidate for County Judge, is the only candidate that filed for the Zone 4 position.

Candidates in the contested races are:

Ray Graves

A software developer in the mornings and proprietor of the “Prepper Up” store in the afternoons, Ray Graves moved to Prineville three years ago. His older son graduated from Crook County High School last year, while earlier this year, he pulled his younger son out of Crook County Middle School to enroll him at Crook County Christian School.

Graves, 56, said he’d like to see the school district add programs to introduce middle school and high school aged students to fields like computer programming and engineering.

“We’ve got some extremely smart kids; the community supports them, but they’re just not getting the education they need,” he said. “There’s not a good high-tech program in the schools. You’ve got Facebook and Apple coming in here, but none of these kids are even qualified to take entry-level college classes to study this kind of thing.”

Graves is not supporting the bond to build a new elementary school and contends the board’s decision to put the bond before voters illustrates a lack of communication with local residents. At a recent board meeting, Graves was dismayed to learn how much money the bond has allocated to repairs at the two schools that would be closed if the bond is passed.

“I kind of got the feeling they don’t have a good plan and that they still (would) be spending money to maintain those old schools, even though that’s the reason they’re wanting to build the new school.”

Graves maintains that the Common Core curriculum standards promote an anti-parent, pro-world government agenda, and said he’s dissatisfied when he hears others suggest the district give in and alter its curriculum to meet the standards.

“If we know something’s wrong, even if its dictated by the state or federal government, that’s no reason to just bow down and let it be,” he said. “You have to fight that if you know its wrong.”

Patti Norris

A member of the school board for the last four years and the current chairwoman of the board, Patti Norris has lived in Crook County for 10 years and works as an adjunct business professor for Central Oregon Community College.

Norris, 51, said she anticipates the board will spend a lot of time in the coming years tinkering with the district’s curriculum and methods of teacher evaluation. The Common Core curriculum standards adopted at the national and state level will require adjustments at the district, she said, as will a state mandate to incorporate student achievement into teacher evaluations.

How to best allocate limited resources will be a concern as well, Norris said.

“Funding’s always an issue. It’s kind of old news to whine about funding; we’ve been doing it so long,” she said.

Norris said she’s fully supportive of the bond campaign.

“It is very long overdue, although the timing is right. We had a bond when we built our new high school 20 years ago; that bond is now being paid off. Unlike in the Bend-La Pine school district, where they kind of do bonds on top of bonds to keep it going, we’ve paid off one and now have an opportunity to bring on a new one at the same rate.”

Gwen Carr

A Central Oregon native, Carr grew up in Bend and has lived in Crook County since 2007. She has two children in Crook County elementary schools and works from home providing medical transcription services to clinics across the country.

Carr said her work experience has provided her with a unique perspective on how technology can help or hinder open communication. She said there seems to be a pattern of misunderstandings between district staff and the administration, and she’d like the board to explore technology-based options to keep information flowing in both directions.

“I’ve always worked remotely, so communication is a key component of that, and knowing how to use that and keep things running smoothly is something I can bring to the district, I think,” she said.

The district will have a lot of work to do adjusting its curriculum to align with the Common Core standards, Carr said, and can’t get bogged down by debate on whether the standards should exist in the first place.

“If you love it or hate it, I think it’s something we have to support and find a way to support,” she said. “We can’t fight it; we need to empower our staff to do the very best they can for our students.”

Carr worked on the district committee to develop the bond measure and is currently active with the political action committee working to persuade voters to say yes.

Brad Peterson

A resident of Crook County since 1985, Peterson worked as an upholsterer, a longshoreman and a truck driver before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 38. Now 58, Peterson ran for a Prineville City Council seat last November, finishing fourth in a five-way race.

Peterson said his son graduated from Crook County schools and his nephew is currently attending. He said he believes the curriculum is flawed, and takes issue with “letting the United Nations rewrite history books.”

“I don’t like the way they’re being taught; they’re not getting a proper education,” he said. Peterson said he’d like to see students held back if they can’t pass “the three Rs.” He said schools had plenty of money back when rural Oregon’s timber mills were operating, and that increasing logging would ensure adequate funding for education.

Peterson is skeptical about the proposal to build a new school.

“My thoughts on the bond: We’re taxed enough already,” Peterson said. “I really don’t see it passing. Our town’s getting smaller, our county’s getting smaller — how can you draw more blood out of the turnip?”

Mike Stuart

A retired teacher and school principal, Mike Stuart is a relatively new resident of Crook County, having moved to Prineville a little less than two years ago.

Stuart, 67, said he would bring his experience working in rural school districts across the state to the board position. He said he was unaware of any pressing policy matters facing the school district, and is primarily interested in getting involved in the community.

“Having worked with school boards as an administrator, I know how they function and I know what they do, so I felt that my experience would lend itself well to helping out in Crook County,” he said. “I don’t have any particular agenda. A lot of people run for school boards for that reason but I don’t have any.”

Stuart said he hasn’t closely followed the campaign for the facilities bond, but thinks the new school could provide an economic boost by making Prineville and Crook County more attractive to younger families.

“If you ask any real estate broker anywhere, when people are thinking of moving in to an area, one of the first things they’ll ask about is the schools.”

Candidate profiles

For the two contested Crook County School Board positions:

Zone 3 (southwest)

Ray Graves

Age: 56

Employment: Software developer for food service company; owner of “Prepper Up” store in Prineville.

Patti Norris

Age: 51

Employment: Adjunct business professor at Central Oregon Community College.e_SClB