As the Ames school board election nears, dealing with budget issues, the renovation of the high school and the construction of a new middle school top candidates’ agendas.

Jane Acker, president of the Ames school board, said school board elections traditionally have gotten very little turnout, but this election, to be held Sept. 9, shows a greater commitment and involvement in the process with its six candidates.

“Last year only one candidate was officially registered to run with some write-ins, and this year six are running,” Acker said.

School board member Allison Tyler said she is motivated to be on the board again because all of the current board members are first-term members, which is unusual.

The goal of running again was to keep that knowledge of the procedures of budgeting and finance formulas from the previous school board, she said.

Some of the controversial issues facing the board this year are middle school budget issues, Tyler said.

Acker said the new middle school will be funded in part by the 1 percent sales tax implemented last October by Story County.

Money from the tax will help build a new middle school, which will cost $28 million and will be completed by the 2005 school year, Acker said.

Tyler said a $10 million bond issue will be used to renovate the Ames high school. It will create a larger lunch room, lockers for all athletes and bring the high school up to safety code.

Mary Ann Dilla, also a school board incumbent, agreed the high school needs renovation.

“[The high school needs] academic spaces that would accommodate all students,” Dilla said.

The new lockers and lunch rooms will help achieve these goals, she added.

Dilla said the main issues facing the state are money issues.

“[Issues include] increasing cost of health insurance for employees, the federal mandates set down to the schools without the funding to support them and the declining money from the state,” Dilla said.

The budget constraints will force the middle school to change from a seventh- and eighth- grade level emphasis to a sixth- , seventh- and eighth- grade level, Dilla said.

How this will effect the quality of education for students has yet to be determined, she said.

Roy Cakerice, also running for the school board this year, said that his main concern is there is no funding coming in from the state.

The budget constraints will “hit people hard,” he said.

Cakerice said he will also work to create good communication between students, teachers, the board and the community.

Cakerice said his perspective comes from the 36 years of teaching experience, 25 of which were in the Ames community.

“[I want to] help make decisions that help teachers and kids,” he said.