Five of the eight candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot are newcomers: James M. Barnett, William S. Griffith, Chad Hockman, Brian Niceswanger and Michael A. Yonnotti. Their answers to questions posed by ThisWeek appear below.

After several attempts, voters approved what many board members called a "stopgap" 14.82-mill, two-year emergency levy in May. Money will be collected in 2010 and 2011. Would you support another levy attempt in 2011? Why or why not?

Barnett: Not at this point, because I don't know the underlying details of the district's finances. The biggest line item is our teachers, obviously. I don't think there's any concern there because our teachers are paid on the lower tier of Franklin County. One of the next-largest items is purchase services. In the last three years, there was an average increase annually of 22 percent, while the student enrollment increases average 5 percent over those three years. Maybe those increases in costs are warranted, but I find it hard to believe, and to assume we need a levy. It doesn't seem right from a numbers perspective, so I wouldn't blindly support it.

Griffith: We've had a failure of leadership at the state level to resolve the school funding issue, and I include both Bob Taft and Ted Strickland in that failure. Mr. Taft simply didn't have the spine to do it; and we now have a governor who campaigned on fixing it and waited two years to introduce a plan based on a budget that is, at best, on shifting sands. So the answer to the levy question is, as painful as it is, yes. Not voting through a levy, even in the current economic situation, is just economic suicide for the district and for the homeowners, whether they have children in the district or not. It drives out businesses, because they don't want to reside in communities that aren't stable enough to keep their schools running.

Hockman: This is a stopgap measure, so absolutely I will support another levy in 2011. I think we need to hold the district more financially accountable, making sure the superintendent and school system are fiscally responsible, and then deciding what type of millage actually is needed, and then move forward from there. We're going to need more money. The levy is a two-year measure and the state is requiring us to have more and more, with the new House Bill that's coming out. But I still think we have to be a little bit more accountable to the community.

Niceswanger: No, I would not support continuing at this current level, and I certainly wouldn't support an increase. Basically, I don't think we can tax our way back to prosperity. When the levy passed, just in talking with friends and neighbors in the district, I've seen what kind of burden it's been and I wanted to see what I could do about it. I've got a pretty good idea about how these things work. I've certainly grown up in an education household.

Yonnotti: I would say yes and no. The answer would be yes, based upon how it's spent. People want to know how this money is being spent. Does every dollar spent equal a quality education? Now I have no reason to believe that it's not, but I think people just want to know.

What is more important, higher school taxes and a financially healthier district or lower, more affordable taxes for area residents?

Barnett: I don't accept the premise. I don't think that taxes need to be that high. There are 17 districts in Franklin County and not all of them are high. If you look at Canal Winchester and/or Groveport, they're probably the highest property taxes in Franklin County. One primary reason is that Madison Township taxes are high relative to other township taxes. I have people that live right down the street that pay half of what we pay in property taxes, but that's because they live in Fairfield County. Franklin County is probably three times higher than Fairfield County, just on the county service taxes that are imposed on real estate.

Griffith: That's a loaded question. What's important is a healthy local tax base and we haven't had that. What's needed is awareness of the economic interdependency of the school district, the village, the township and the county. I have never, ever voted against a school levy. When our family farm was in economic duress, I voted for school levies. I'm sorry, but I value education that much. We have got to expect to pay the bill, and the taxes that the state of Ohio collects do not come from some magic pot of money, they come from taxpayers.

Hockman: I think that we need to support the schools. In the same sense, though, we have people who live on fixed incomes. We need to make sure that we're doing what's right and being fiscally responsible. It's kind of a Catch-22 for me. I don't think going back to the voters in 2011 with another 14- or 16-mill levy is the answer. I think we've got to lower the millage, do more with less, try and stretch that dollar. The treasurer and the superintendent need to look around and say, "Are we doing everything we can?"

Niceswanger: I believe we can have both lower taxes and great schools. I think we can do things to not only come up with cost savings, but greater efficiencies. I've worked for the federal government and I've worked for the state government now for 11 years. I would love to see us pursue more alternative sources of funding -- going after more federal grant money. There's money from the federal Department of Education for gifted programs. I'd love to see us go after that kind of money, something that we can use. If you can pull in some grant money, then that's money you can offset from the general fund to use for other things.

Yonnotti: That's a tough question. I've spent my whole life in education, and I can't imagine doing anything else. I feel the priorities of quality education rank pretty high. It's important, and so is the legacy you leave behind. I think we all have a part in this. You have to find equitable ways to manage money. You need to beat the bushes for every possible dollar. If you've exhausted that, then you go to the voters for more.

The school district has made steady improvements in its scores on the state report card since 2006-07 and most recently earned an "excellent" ranking for 2008-09 from the Ohio Department of Education. What can or should the board do to help teachers and students improve on the problem areas of fifth-grade math and social studies and eighth-grade science and social studies?

Barnett: First you've got to understand where the deficiencies lie and address them as educators. I want to compliment the current school board for getting the rating up from effective to excellent.

Griffith: The improvements are to be commended. I believe in the pursuit of excellence, whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, in the extracurriculars, whatever. I think that a clear curricula and a clear expectation of the students is crucial. We cannot allow mediocrity. Everybody has challenges, but it ought to be known to every student regardless of aptitude, we expect you to do your personal best. Some of the best teachers I ever had pushed me the hardest.

Hockman: The board is there to serve as an adviser for the executive committee of the school. You ask your superintendent and the principals, those people who are involved in those areas, and see what is the root cause and do an analysis to see what it is that we can do to change that. I think you tackle one thing at a time and set goals. We're not going to change it overnight, but we can definitely find a better way to solve the problems.

Niceswanger: Those areas need to be emphasized, but at the same time, we can't put so much emphasis on bringing those scores up that we let the other ones begin to slide. I would certainly support any teachers or administrator to attend special training (or) workshops that the department of education had on how to bring those up.

Yonnotti: They need to use data-driven assessments from testing and test scores for their decision-making. It used to be that teachers set the curriculum for the schools. There were no standards per se. (With the report card) now we have a roadmap to get to excellence. Testing is just numbers unless it drives your instruction. We have to find a way to individualize students' instruction and their learning to bring them to their ultimate potential. I'm kind of passionate about this. Having done this for my whole life, I'd like to think I've had an impact in some way.