Three Grantsville candidates Tuesday will battle for two ballot spots for the Tooele Board of Education's Precinct 4 seat.
Two school board seats are up for grabs this year, but only Precinct 4 requires a primary election. Incumbent Kendall Thomas of Stockton is running unopposed in Precinct 5.The two primary election leaders will forward to the November election.
Larry H. Harrison
Age: 59
Address: 475 W. Clark St., Grantsville
Occupation: Director of Tooele City Parks and Recreation.
Experience: Retired teacher of 26 years, seven-year Tooele High principal.
Personal: 33-year Grantsville resident, wife Barbara, four children, nine grandchildren.
Platform: Growth is a main issue for Tooele County schools. "We can't very well manage it, be we need to have a proactive approach to it."
School violence: He says students carry weapons because they feel schools aren't meeting their educational and social needs. "I think we need programs in schools that will utilize the expertise of the young people . . . give them opportunities to be their own people in a managed way and still allow us opportunities to provide generalized education that will benefit society in the long run."
Growth: "We have to anticipate that it's happening and begin to develop programs and facilities that will handle growth as it does arrive."
Reason you should vote for him: "I think I have an experience as far as the profession of education is concerned that hasn't been represented completely in previous boards of education."
Carol S. Jefferies
Age: 46
Address: 120 Deseret Circle, Grantsville
Occupation: Grocery store owner.
Experience: 12-year school volunteer teaching music and drama and orchestrating high school graduation.
Personal: Lifetime Grantsville resident, husband David, six children.
Platform: "I see a real need to get the best things we can offer our kids. I want safe schools . . . I want to make a difference."
School violence: She wants to work with the community to address problems now as a preventative measure. "I think it's going to take everyone, whether or not they have kids in the schools. It's not only affecting families with schoolchildren, but the whole community and the whole state."
Growth: She says officials need to keep an eye down the road. "We've outgrown our schools and we've not even begun to reach our growth potential. . . . I think we need to do some long-term planning to get the space and teachers we need and do it as economically as we can."
Reason you should vote for her: "I love Grantsville and want to do what's best for the kids."
Robert "Cowboy Bob" Lawrence
Age: 77
Address: 259 E. Main, Grantsville
Occupation: Cowboy.
Experience: Seven-year school board member; retired school bus driver of 25 years, retired federal firefighter, World War II veteran.
Personal: 60-year Grantsville resident, wife Della, five children, 27 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren.
Platform: "I've always been involved with young people. I want to see them get the best possible advantage in their education by influencing administration to practice the policies which nurture kids in their education."
School violence: He believes school violence, though slight in Tooele schools, could be prevented by encouraging and instilling honesty and responsibility in students. "If I could instill that into students and administrators, I think we would not have the violence."
Growth: While money helps ease growing pains, Lawrence says helping hands are key to maintaining good schools. "We have a real (growth) impact in our district . . . we're coping with it in the best possible way by efficient use of facilities and projecting plans for the future."
Reason you should vote for him: He has never missed or been late to a meeting in seven years. "That's an indication of my dedication to the schools."