School Board Candidates Grapple With Budget, Other Issues

Martina A. "Tina" Hone, 45, a former Teach for America member who works for Congressional Quarterly, said she would seek to recruit more minority teachers and more teachers who have worked in troubled schools. Hone, whose mother is African American and whose father is a political refugee from Yugoslavia, said she would bring a new perspective to the board about the concerns of minorities and immigrants. She is endorsed by the Democratic Party.

James L. Raney, 60, a Defense Department analyst, supports creating an annual report card that parents could use to gauge how well the schools are educating traditional students as well as those in gifted programs, special education programs and alternative schools. He is also Democrat-endorsed.

Paul A. Costantino, 48, a probation counselor at the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center, is among several candidates who have vowed to seek out waste in the schools spending plan, which topped $2 billion for the first time in 2006. Costantino, who has the GOP's endorsement, also said the schools need to do more for students with mental health problems, including hiring more counselors.

Ralph M. Cooper Jr., 57, who has served on the schools' Minority Achievement Oversight Committee, also supports enhanced phonics instruction. Cooper, a system analyst at Alion Science and Technology, is among several candidates who said they would find ways to get parents more involved in education. He is not party-endorsed.

Christopher E. Volkstorf, 38, a graphic designer, is endorsed by the Independent Green Party and said he ran to help draw attention to the party's push for a high-speed rail network.

In district races, Democrat-backed Ramona W. Morrow and GOP-backed Elizabeth T. Bradsher are competing to replace retiring board member Catherine A. Belter (Springfield). GOP-backed incumbent Tessie Wilson (Braddock) faces Democrat-backed Elizabeth D. Griffith; Democrat-backed incumbent Stuart D. Gibson (Hunter Mill) faces GOP-backed Christine A. Arakelian; and Democrat-backed incumbent Kathy L. Smith (Sully) faces GOP-backed John L. Litzenberger Jr.

The uncontested, Democrat-backed incumbents seeking reelection are Daniel G. Storck (Mount Vernon), Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner (Providence), Kaye Kory (Mason), Jane K. Strauss (Dranesville) and Brad Center (Lee).