Three north Fulton residents are running in November for the District 5 Fulton County School Board seat which is being vacated by Ashley Widener, who is not running for re-election.

Business owner Gregg Blotner, PTA co-president Linda McCain and retired educator Marti Miller Elliott are all vying for the open seat and all have said re-evaluating program cuts is a top priority if elected.

Blotner, the five-year chairman of the Local School Advisory Council at Barnwell Elementary, also said he would like to reduce class sizes and said he would ensure better communication between the board and the district.

“I will personally guarantee improvements in communication between the school board and its district,” he said. “No longer will parents and teachers feel uninformed and unimportant, but instead an integral part of the process.”

The business owner’s children have been in the Fulton County school system for seven years, and in 2009, the PTA member was selected to be on the principal search committee for Barnwell Elementary.

“In my experience as a business owner, I have enacted policies for years to achieve the successful business that I have today,” Blotner said. “This includes examining every penny being spent, putting a stop to needless spending and making sure that my communication skills are on a level with all those employed or using my services in business.”

Mother-of-three and substitute teacher Ms. McCain said if elected she will prioritize continuous student achievement and planning for the future.

“Serving on the School Board would be one of the most important ways I could support the community at large,” she said. “The assignment of spending taxpayer dollars in the most efficient way possible while providing a quality education for our children requires a resourceful individual.”

All of Ms. McCain’s children have attended school in Fulton County, and she said she would like to implement Cluster Based Budgeting.

“The more locally that we make decisions for our children the more responsive we can be to the needs of our individual communities,” she said. “Instead of a ‘one size fits all’ mentality, we can customize the programs and services that we offer our students and parents based upon geographic location within the county.”

The 14-year parent volunteer has been a Local School Advisory Council chair and has served on the booster club board.

Marti Miller Elliott, who worked as a Fulton County teacher for more than 30 years, said she would prioritize an expectation of excellence for all students and frugality in the school board budget — with an emphasis on streamlining procedures, not personnel.

“With the economic challenges facing our schools, I welcome the opportunity to work diligently in guaranteeing that each student possesses the educational tools for success in whatever endeavor he or she chooses,” she said. “I would also like the Board to evaluate procedures in order to insure that we are getting the maximum productivity for our dollars.”

The Local School Advisory Board and Parent Teacher Student Association member also said she would like to have more communication with residents if elected.

“I plan to be ‘in touch’ with my constituents by serving as a responsive and responsible representative to this community and by being accessible and listening to the needs in our schools,” she said. “Regularly scheduled morning and evening meetings within the 5th District will be the norm.”

All three candidates said they agreed with the school board’s recent decision to opt out of a partnership with the state on the “Race to Top” program because the program may have limited local control.