CNP voters to select next school board member
Two candidates on ballot for April 5 Choctaw-Nicoma Park election
By Ryan Horton
Choctaw Times
Choctaw-Nicoma Park School District voters will decide between two candidates at an April 5 general election.
Jennifer Barba, 46, filed to challenge James Don Alsup for the office No. 2 seat on the CNP School Board.
Unlike city wards, board of education seats are elected at large. Any registered voter who legally resides within the CNP boundaries is eligible to vote. Those boundaries are much larger than the municipal city limits of Choctaw and Nicoma Park.
Alsup, the incumbent, takes pride in accomplishments made by the district during his long tenure on the board of education.
“I have dedicated 25 years serving the needs of our children and our community. I feel I have gained a great deal of knowledge in that time on preparing policy that guides us toward ‘excellence in all we do’ without handicapping administrative judgement in applying those policies. We have experienced hard times and good times financially and those experiences provide a greater basis in making financial choices,” said Alsup, who also looks to his professional career as an engineer to help the community. “We are about to embark on the largest building project in the history of CNP schools thanks to the passing of the recent bond issue. As an engineer and a board member that has been through a large capital improvement effort. I feel more qualified than most to review, evaluate and be involved with design change orders to help ensure the students and patrons of CNP schools get the best product for the money spent.”
Barba is a 1994 graduate of Choctaw High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and is currently working on a master’s degree of adult education in talent and development at the University of Central Oklahoma.
“My priorities will be to ensure our district will be responsive to our core values, our students’ academic achievements, beliefs, to keep open communications, open transparency, uphold all policies/guidelines, and decisions for our district. I will seek to understand issues, knowing the decisions made could/will have a tremendous impact to our schools, students, faculty staff, and our community,” said Barba.
“I wish to create a shared vision for academic achievement for all students within our district by establishing a culture of learning and creating an expectation of high academic standards for the students and the curriculum guidelines. And to do this, I would like to collaborate with the stakeholders (students, parents, grandparents, educators, and community leaders) and school board colleagues.”
Polls will be open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at regular voting locations. For more details about your voting information and sample ballots visit okvoterportal.okelections.us.