Another contender has entered the arena for one of the four open seats on the State College Area School District School Board.

John B. Jaymes, a former teacher and elementary school principal in the district, said he can make a difference by improving State College.

For example, he said he wants to ensure that teachers do not strike again. State College Area teachers reached a settlement with the district last fall after a nine-day strike, the first in the borough's history.

"A strike is a failure. The labor management system needs to be overridden," Jaymes said. "Teachers should be considered professionals."

Jaymes himself was a teacher in New Jersey and then served as principal of Corl Street and Matternville Elementary School in State College from 1968 to 1974. The married father of five grown children left the educational system to enter a family jewelry business that needed his attention.

He also has co-designed a wood-burning, hot-water furnace that has received a patent.

Currently, he owns Jaymes Building Systems, a residential construction company in State College.

George McMurtry, former school board chairman, said one of the biggest issues in this year's race will be the projected growth of the district and how it plans to meet that growth.

"It has implications as far as space, building capacity, size of the teaching staff and budget," he said.

Jaymes said he opposes an increase in taxes to support the district's growth.

"The state tax reforms and the new growth should support the growth needed in the budget," he said.

Jaymes also emphasized the importance of the Vocational Technical School in Pleasant Gap.

"In this area we have a lot of homes, buildings and equipment to keep going," said Jaymes, whose son attended the State College Area schools. "The educational system needs to provide people with an education that will support them as well as the community."

Jaymes graduated from Juniata College and is an alumnus of Harvard University and Princeton Theological Seminary.

"Education is never a static situation. When you achieve one goal, you must move on," he said. "I'm not interested in being an interpreter for the school administrators. I want to represent the people."

Jaymes called the community's recent racial tensions a real problem that needs to be alleviated by taking a proactive approach.

"I don't know of any racism problems in the local schools, but we must be there before it happens," he said.