TORONTO - Four individuals are seeking three seats on the Toronto City School District's board on Nov. 3.

Incumbents Kyle Brown, Larry Davidson and Tim Starr will be running once again, as well as city resident Robert Reeves.

Brown was appointed and then elected in 2005. He is a 1972 graduate of Toronto High School and a lifelong resident of the city. He currently has a son and daughter attending THS.

Brown serves as business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 246; is chairman of the American Red Cross Jefferson County Chapter; and vice president of the Upper Ohio Valley Building and Construction Trades Council.

He is a member of the board of the Jefferson County Vocational School, and serves with the Building Efficiently by Striving Together Project, Steubenville Rotary Club, the Jefferson County Democratic Party, Eastern Ohio Tech Prep Consortium, Area 16 Workforce Investment Board, Progress Alliance and as a trustee for the IBEW apprenticeship, health care and pension plans.

Brown served on the Toronto Schools Continuous Improvement Plan Committee, Region 10 School-To-Work Board and the Ohio Career Education Association Board.

"As a board member, I believe we must be responsive and responsible to the citizens, parents and students within our community," he stated. "We must provide a professional staff and administration, a challenging curriculum and excellent facilities for which to learn.

"In 2008, we attained an effective ranking for all of our buildings and the district," Brown said. "We must continue to strive for an excellent ranking by working together to provide a positive and nurturing learning environment for all of our students."

Davidson received bachelor's degrees in physics and mathematics while attending Kent State University, West Liberty State College and Lehigh University.

He was a senior research scientist at the National Steel Corp.'s Materials Utilization Can Research Center and Weirton Steel Corp.'s Weirtec Research Center for more than 30 years. He recently retired from ArcelorMittal Steel in Weirton.

Davidson has 19 years of experience as a Toronto City School Board member and explained three reasons why continuing to serve the district is important to him.

"We need to keep improving our state test scores," he said. "They have improved significantly in the past year and I feel confident that they will continue to improve."

Secondly, Davidson noted, "We must be fiscally responsible. I am very concerned about state funding. The state tangible property tax will be eliminated in 2010. This will have a negative effect on individual school funding if the state does not replace the funding loss.

"We need to build a new school building," Davidson said as his third key issue. "Our school system is in the top tier for funding a new building; however, Gov. Ted Strickland vetoed a bill that would have provided Toronto with a much lower cost to the Toronto taxpayers. We have now been forced to take money that could have been used for a new building to do existing building repair."

Reeves is a graduate of Toronto High School who received bachelor of arts and master's degrees from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

His entire educational career has been spent in the city school district, being a teacher at Karaffa Middle School and at THS.

Reeves also served as principal at the middle and high schools and currently holds a superintendent's license. He has served as athletic director, coach and bus driver. He is an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.

"The people of Toronto deserve the best education possible for their children," Reeves stated.

One of the areas he sees as a major concern is the economy.

"The economy is and will play a major factor in the direction of our school system," he said. "The citizens of Toronto must have an active role in the education system. Do we want to maintain what we have or build a new school?" Reeves asked.

"Our school system is what attracts people and businesses to our Gem City," Reeves continued. "Our good citizens want a school board to be fair, honest and respect the wishes of the people."

"The last 10 to 15 years have brought out more competition among area schools. With open enrollment, home schooling, curriculum and extra-curricular activities, the Toronto school system is competing to keep our students here. Have we done enough?" Reeves asks.

"I, like many other former Red Knights with children or grandchildren in our school system, want to offer the best education possible. If elected, I will strive to build on what we have and listen to the people of Toronto to see what direction we want to take."

Starr is seeking re-election to the school board, on which he currently serves as president.

He is an alumnus of Toronto City Schools and a local business owner. He is an active member of the First United Methodist Church and serves on the Toronto Services Committee.

"As a board member, I have been striving to help our district be the best we can possibly be," Starr stated. "I believe that it is very important for our town to maintain its identity as a local school system. Many issues face our district, including poor economic conditions, a dwindling population and decreased school enrollment."

Starr commented that he believes by "working together as a team, (board members, administrators and staff) have the opportunity to maintain our status as an effective school, and therefore, perpetuate Toronto City Schools."

"I would be willing to meet with any concerned citizens to discuss issues or answer questions pertaining to my candidacy," Starr concluded.

School board members serve four-year terms and receive $80 per month for their services, or a total of $960 per year.

(Ghrist can be contacted at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com.)