ELECTION 2008: Incumbents sweep in NAFC school board

By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com

May 06, 2008 11:06 pm

— The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. Board of Trustees will remain the same for next school year.
All three incumbents up for election won their races Tuesday.
Rebecca Gardenour, board president who ran for re-election unopposed, said this shows the public supports the sitting board.
“I feel like the community has confidence in us and appreciates the job we’re doing,” Gardenour said. “That’s why I feel they elected all the incumbents.”
Patricia Badger-Byrd, who won the At-Large seat with 8,560 votes, or 47.73 percent, agreed.
“I think that the public is pleased with the elected school board,” Badger-Byrd said. “I think this just shows that a lot of them stand behind us and they’re OK with what we’re doing.”
Neal Smith, who had the closest race, won by a little more than 1 percent over Michael Dankovich with 8,678 votes, or 50.77 percent.
“Whew!” Smith exclaimed when asked about the close race. “I don’t want a rematch! It was tough.”
He added that the close race is a testament to the quality of candidates. Dankovich agreed.
“I think I was running against an incumbent that was very well qualified and that did a very good job,” Dankovich said. “I wish him all the best.”
All those elected said they are ready to get back to work. Some of the items on their agendas are settling the contract with teachers, improving customer service in the schools and finding solutions to lower class sizes.
Gardenour said having the same people on board again will help since no transition period is needed.
“Whenever you have a change on a team, there’s always an adjustment period,” she said. “This way, we can get under way with the things on-hand. The continuity will help us to provide better services for our children.”