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The Guilford County Board of Education has six of its 11 seats up for election, but only two have contested races: the at-large seat being vacated by Dot Kearns and the District 3 position now held by Darlene Garrett.

Carlvena Foster, a YMCA administrator, is running unopposed for the District 1 seat now held by High Point's Walter Childs, while Paul Daniels is running for the District 5 seat, which represents southeastern Guilford, being vacated by Anita Sharpe. Kris Cooke is running unopposed in District 7 as is District 9's Amos Quick.

The new school board faces a raft of issues. It must oversee the wise use of school construction bond money. Members must do what's in their power to address the system's drop-out rate. They must address student enrollment growth and weigh in on policies ranging from grant applications to gang intervention. Board members also are often called upon by the districts they represent to address specific problems in them - everything from crowded classrooms to appropriate attire.

In short, being a board member entails much more than attending board meetings. Following are our endorsements for the two contested school board races.

At-large

Dot Kearns' departure leaves some big shoes to fill. Kearns has been a key force in Guilford education for decades, having served on the High Point Board of Education as well as the consolidated school board. Two strong candidates are vying for her seat: Sandra Alexander and Michael McKinney. Both seem to have a passion for education and for the wider community that's needed for the job. But McKinney's background in finance gives him the edge.

McKinney, 44, is a vice president/commercial banker with Southern Community Bank and Trust. He has served on the board of directors of the United Way of Greater Greensboro; spurred fundraising efforts for the International Civil Rights Museum; sits on the board of TREBIC, the Triad Real Estate and Business Industry Coalition; and is involved in many other community organizations. Another plus: He and his wife, who live in High Point, have a 9-year-old daughter in the school system.

McKinney sees a primary role of the board as providing financial oversight to the school district. "We have to run it like a business," he says. "I have knowledge about money management, investing, allocating, construction financing, saving and other aspects that would make a contribution to the board."

McKinney supports an "operational assessment" being done to determine whether there are redundancies in the system and whether it can be operated more efficiently. The board must "consider any/all feasible reductions or minimizations," he says.

But McKinney is interested in more than fiscal issues. Long involved in the international mentoring organization 100 Black Men, he thinks mentoring programs could help close the achievement gap in Guilford schools. He also supports "out-of-the-box" thinking on issues - an open-minded approach that would serve the board well.

McKinney's opponent, Greensboro resident Alexander, 61, is a retired N.C. A&T English professor who now runs a tour company. Alexander is interested in curriculum issues and cites her teaching background as providing insight on "academics, discipline and student retention."

"There's a need for more educators on the board," she says, though she also touts her experience as an administrator and small-business owner as giving her knowledge about personnel and financial matters.

Alexander has interesting ideas: She says all-male middle schools could be a way to address the achievement gap, and she supports more teaching assistants, particularly in the lower grades.

District 3

You would be hard-pressed to find a school board member who works as hard as District 3's Darlene Garrett. She deserves another term.

Garrett, 54, bills herself as "a full-time school board member," and she's not exaggerating. Her northwest Guilford constituents know that she'll be there if they ask her to visit a school or speak at a community meeting.

Garrett, a Greensboro resident, has made school construction a priority during her two terms. To that end, she leads the construction advisory committee, which researches efficient construction options.

Garrett seems well-acquainted with other issues the board handles. She would like to hire more teaching assistants and would like the district to stop using the Haberman interview process as a way of screening teachers and principals, as she believes it causes the district to lose good employees.

Her opponent, Mike Stone, 47, a manufacturing manager who lives in Oak Ridge, opposed Garrett in 2000. The main thrust of his campaign against Garrett is that she is wrong to support granting the school board taxing authority. We agree with Stone on this issue, but we don't think it should be the deciding factor, as the General Assembly isn't likely to provide school boards such power any time soon.