Pea Ridge School Board election is Tuesday

Three men are seeking the seat on the School Board currently held by Joshua Ramsey, who is not seeking re-election.

Jeff Cato, Joseph Carlson and John Dye have expressed a desire to serve the community and help the school cope with the growth that it has been, and will be, experiencing.

Cato, 44, works for Walmart Distribution Center. He and his wife, Ann, have four children. Ann Cato is the current president of the Pea Ridge School Board.

Dye, 37, works for Coffman & Company, an accounting firm, and owns Dye Hards Gym in Pea Ridge. He and his wife, Bobbie Jo, have three children.

Carlson, 37, is a disabled veteran and just earned his bachelor's degree in American history. He and his wife, Crystal, have three children.

"We're in similar camps," Dye said at the Gateway forum, when asked about issues.

Cato said some people question his running while related to a current board member.

"The one issue that some people have heartburn over ... if I got on (the School Board) with Ann. Their concerns would be that we would be able to align and somehow change the direction of the School Board. It takes three to create a majority of the vote for anything," he said.

Ramsey, who has served on the School Board for five years and served two years as president, said: "I think the potential for problems is greater when you have two people from the same family. It's only a five-member board. If you have two people who are closely related, you've constantly got two voices that are the same."

Relatives serving on the School Board is legal in Arkansas.

"For a board to function correctly," Ramsey said, "you need five people willing to speak their mind, voice their opinions and be able to have open dialogue and debate."

Cato said: "Anybody who knows us knows we don't agree on everything. I'm my own person. I wouldn't want to insult other school board members... I trust those other school board members to vote they way they want to vote. I wouldn't twist their arm."

Cato said his wife's term expires next year. "It would be less than one year that each of us would have on the board together. She has no plans to run for re-election, part of that plays in to it. She's going off. I want to be in position to be on.

"It's awful hard on household... I want to take that period of time and learn from what she's learned... She won't be an officer this next year either."

Asked why he didn't wait and run for her seat, Cato said: "The thing I was concerned about, as busy as people tend to be, I didn't want them to be confused it was her running again. I have concern over that. If I don't this time, I might when her term is up."

Ramsey said: "This is a dynamic people have to understand; you can not fully separate yourself from the relationship you have with the person. I've been in board meetings when things get pretty heated. I can't imagine doing that with somebody that you're immediate family members with. I think it's a question that has to be addressed."

The dangers could be that if board members have a personal agenda, they would only have to sway one board member to have a quorum -- three people make a quorum on a five-member board.

"I'm not saying they have a personal agenda, it's just that the power is there," Ramsey said. "The potential for one family to make significant and drastic changes to the community's education and funding and leadership inside the school, that could affect the lives of students for years to come, exists."

"I don't think it's best that that much power resides within one family," Ramsey said.