6 vie for 3 seats on Higley school board

Six candidates are running for three open seats on the Higley Unified School District governing board, including several business owners, an English teacher, a former board member, an incumbent and a former district employee.

Paul Howell, 48, is an English teacher at Mesa High School. He said he's running for the "great opportunity to have a positive influence on our youngsters."

"My vision for the district is to make it the best in the state," said Howell, who has a doctorate in educational supervision and administration from Arizona State University. "I want to see a nice collaboration between the community, parents, youngsters, school board and district administration. I would like to see everyone on the same page."

He has four sons at Coronado K-8. Sam is a kindergartner, Ben is in fourth grade, and twins Jon and David are in sixth grade. His son Jason McPeek graduated from Higley High School in 2007.

Geoff Johnston, 38, runs an internet consulting business. He has been involved in several startup businesses, and said his experience fits the Higley district with its growth environment.

"From my take, a school board isn't all that different than a board of directors," said Johnston, who has an MBA from San Diego State University and a bachelor's degree in music from Brigham Young University. "I would like to see our schools getting so good that families that have left the district will come back."

He has three children at Cortina Elementary School. Samantha is a sixth-grader, Erin is in fourth grade and Quinn is in first grade. His daughter, Josie, will be in kindergarten next year.

Greg Land, 45, was on the Higley school board from 2004 to 2006. He said he's not happy with the direction the district has been going. Land said the district has problems with leadership, teacher retention, financial responsibility and accountability.

"I think it's time for a change of leadership, starting with (Superintendent) Joyce Lutrey," Land said. "I don't think it's a good fit for her in Higley right now."

Land owns a home inspection business and has a bachelor's degree in business management from ASU.

He has two children at Chaparral Elementary School. Karlie is a sixth-grader, and Kyle is in eighth grade.

Taunya Lofgreen, 37, said she is running because she wants to see more accountability in the district. It's important for the district to move forward and learn from its mistakes, she added.

Her son is a freshman at Higley High. She has a daughter in the fifth grade and a son in kindergarten at San Tan Elementary School. She also has two stepchildren in the Chandler school district.

"I'm passionate about having kids in a school district I like," Lofgreen said. "I don't like the negative national news."

She owns a land consulting and title work company, has done commercial real estate and has been a substitute teacher in Higley and Mesa school districts. She has a master's in business administration from the University of Phoenix, and a bachelor's in human development, similar to an early childhood education degree, from BYU.

Denise Standage, 49, is running for her second term on the Higley school board. She ran four years ago because she's an advocate of curriculum and instructional excellence for students.

"I think communication and dialogue is important, and I would like to help build that community," Standage said. "We're starting to have better dialogue between district and parents. It's part of the change, part of getting things going."

Standage home-schooled her four children, who are now 19 to 25 years old. She's an office manager for the Forever Young Foundation, a nonprofit group in Mesa that raises funds for charitable organizations. She's working on her MBA and has a bachelor's in business management from the University of Phoenix.

Carolyn Starr, 43, taught leadership classes at Gateway and Cortina K-8s and worked in the district office for 2 1/2 years. She's now an executive director for Signal Peak Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money and supports programs for education.

She has two children in the district. Charles is in eighth grade at Coronado K-8, and Victoria is a freshman at Williams Field High. Her son, Matthew, just graduated from Higley High.

"I love the school district, and my biggest concern and hope is keeping our good teachers in the district," Starr said. "When we moved to Arizona we looked around at different districts. I fell in love with Higley's K-8 model, and I want to see it just be the best it can be."

Ed Moore and Nancy Eugenis have decided not to run again in the Nov. 4 election.

School board candidate lists and statements can be found at www.maricopa.gov/schools.