Crook County High School in Prineville Tuesday afternoon. 4-1-25

Kevin Bradley is leading in the Crook County school board race for the Zone 5 at-large seat with 61% of the vote in early returns compared to opponent Eddy Howard with 38%.

The school board had four seats open, though only one was a contested race. Incumbents Eric Osborne, Scott Cooper and Kelsey Swick ran unopposed and were elected.

Bradley would like to help out with what he can on the board. His granddaughter attends Crooked River Elementary School. As a former youth program manager for the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, he knows staff members and respects the work the school district does.

In addition to talking to students and receiving their input, Bradley is interested in focusing on alternative education and career technical education. He’s also concerned about how funding cuts may affect the district. With Prineville’s growth, Bradley is also aware that the schools may need to deal with capacity issues in the future.

Howard wanted to run for school board because he was interested in learning more about how the district worked, including the ins and outs of its budget. His wife works for the school district, he said. He ran in 2023, and lost to Jennifer Knight, but decided to run again because people asked him to. He said he isn’t interested in distractions, and said students should be in school to learn.

He wants to get Prineville’s leaders involved in the schools, and work on ways for the district to use the town’s available resources.