Two Greensboro residents have emerged so far as candidates for six open seats on the Guilford County Board of Education.
Kris Cooke, who currently represents District 7, and David Crawford filed with the board of elections Monday. Filing ends Feb. 29.
Cooke, 61, has served on the board since 1997. She said she wants to help the board pass $457 million worth of school bonds this year.
"I just feel like there's a lot of work that I still want to accomplish," Cooke said.
Crawford, who has unsuccessfully run for City Council seats in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, has filed for the at-large seat occupied by Dot Kearns of High Point.
Crawford, 42, is a community volunteer who formerly owned a computer store.
Other than expressing a general dissatisfaction with the state of Guilford County Schools, Crawford said he would like to see students attend classes year-round. He said he didn't know if his chances of beating Kearns in an election were strong.
"Dot Kearns is not a bad candidate," Crawford said. "I actually like her."
Kearns, 76, who has served on the board since 1992, said she has not decided if she will seek re-election.
"I've certainly given it thought and talked about it with some folks," she said.
If Kearns does run, she could face at least two competitors. Erik Huey, a former reporter and teacher living in Jamestown, said he would file for either the at-large or District 5 seats. So far, Huey is sizing up his competition.
"I am waiting to see how the filing goes," said Huey, who announced his planned candidacy in November 2006. "We've got a lot of things that we want to do. We want to see what the easiest path to victory is."
Huey, 36, has spoken at several school board meetings and is a critic of the district's spending, construction of schools and management of student behavior.
Anita Sharpe, 56, has represented District 5 for the past 17 years.
Sharpe said she will retire from the board to spend more time with her job and grandchildren.
Walter Childs, 60, said he has not made a decision about whether to run again for the District 1 seat.
Childs is surveying constituents to see if he has done an effective job representing the district, he said.
"If I have not (served effectively) I'll help them find someone," Childs said. "I don't believe in staying in something if you don't have the support of the district."
Darlene Garrett, 53, of District 3 was out of town this week but said in an e-mail that she planned to file once she returns next week.
Amos Quick, 39, said he is "98 percent to 99 percent sure" he will seek his second term representing District 9.
Quick said he awaits an OK from his daughters, Jasmine and Raven, who will graduate from high school in 2009 and 2010.
"It's very important to me that I spend time with them," Quick said.
Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or mjosey@news-record.com
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