PEA RIDGE — Voters in the Pea Ridge School District will return to the polls Tuesday to decide between Angie Pratt and Joshua Ramsey for a five-year term on the Pea Ridge School Board. The two received the most votes in a four-man race and are slated for a runoff.
Pratt, 34, works for Village Home Center. She and her husband, Adam, have three children in the school.
Ramsey, 40, is self-employed; he owns and operates a marketing company, Cornerstone Productions. He and his wife, Candee, have two sons in the schools.
"The gym is a big issue," Pratt said, adding, "Maybe it's a bigger issue with the economy like it is.
I think it's commendable they're trying to go out and get funding other ways.
"Really, we have to look at the cost of doing day to day business, like school supplies and field trips. It's tough for some parents to come up with the money."
"I think the football field is definitely overdue. I just don't know if now is the time," Pratt said.
Ramsey, who has assisted in the committee to seek outside funding for a football field, said: "It's a lot more than a football stadium that's being talked about.
"Right now there are kids that don't have lockers who have to carry their football equipment from class to class or find a place for it it be. The football team is using a locker room that's in the same facility as the weight room.
You've got Farmingtin with 70 kids trying to get dressed in a location that holds 25. It's a field house, it's a band room, a track - 'cause right now, our kids, to practice track, run track literally in the parking lot.
That's a safety concern, when the kids are trying to run circles when people are trying to drive in and out of the parking lot.
"Now, with all that being said, the football stadium is just a small piece of what anybody on the school board should be concerned about," Ramsey said. "I'm not a one-agenda person that says it's all aboout getting a footballstadium, because it's not.
"It's about providing an environment that encourages education for all students. In the next five years, will this school board have to address the football stadium? Absolutely, but it's certainly not the only issue," he said.
Ramsey said his more than 20 years of leadership experience and serving on multiple boards has given him understanding in how to balance a budget and make decisions.
"I'm very willing and open to listen to everyone's concerns and needs and am available," Ramsey said.
Pratt said she'd like to see teachers tested for drug use. "I'd really like to see it pushed to see teachers drug tested. It's only fair.
It's not fair to test the students if the teachers aren't willing," she said.
An ROTC program at school is also something Pratt would like to see added. She said even if she doesn't win the election, that's something she'll continue to research and seek.
"Some kids don't play sports or in the band," she said in recommending the ROTC program.
Pratt's grandfather, Floyd Walker, served on the school board for years, she said, saying that was one of the reasons that compelled her to run.
During the school election Sept. 15, 272 people, or 7.4 percent of the 3,653 registered voters in the district, cast votes.
The polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6. Voters may cast votes early at both Rogers and Bentonville county clerk's offices until Tuesday.
News, Pages 1 on 09/30/2009