Board candidates optimistic about schools' progress

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By M.K. Luther -- mkluther@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Two veteran Warren County School Board members are making unopposed bids for election on Tuesday.

James S. Wells, 55, of Front Royal, is running unopposed for re-election to the Happy Creek District seat.

Wells, 55, is the pharmacy administrator director at Warren Memorial Hospital. A 1977 graduate of West Virginia University and a West Virginia native, Wells relocated to Front Royal in 1986.

Wells first joined the School Board when he was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by member John Oliver.

"He really is the person I look to as my role model for the school board," Wells said.

If re-elected, this will be Wells' second full term.

Wells credits his family, including sisters and an aunt who were educators, with instilling in him the value of education. Wells' wife is the director of guidance at Skyline High School, and his son and daughter are Warren County Public Schools graduates.

Wells, who served on the board as it was striving to provide two high schools and a new middle school facility, said the division has developed more than new buildings in recent years.

"It goes beyond bricks and mortar," Wells said. "I am quite pleased that our SOL scores and graduation rates have gone up."

Wells recognizes that progress can still be made in the school system, and said he would like to see more county schools achieve the Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark, as well as an increased focus on economically disadvantaged and special education students.

"We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to make sure they have the opportunities to succeed," Wells said.

Catherine R. Bower, 52, a native of Front Royal, is seeking election to the Fork District seat.

Bower resigned from the seat in June, citing personal reasons, and vowed to seek election in November and serve out the full term.

The personal conflict would be solved by election time, Bower stated when she resigned. Bower already had qualified as a candidate at the time of her resignation.

Bower currently works part time at Front Royal Dental Care and is an adjunct instructor at the Middletown campus of Lord Fairfax Community College.

Bower, has two daughters, a 20-year-old college student and a 24-year-old teacher at Ressie Jeffries Elementary School. Bower said she and her husband are both graduates of the Warren County Public School system and she believes in serving the community's needs by ensuring a high quality education for local students.

"My interest has always been that the children of the community get the education that they want and the education that they need," Bower said.