Liberty School District patrons will go to the polls Tuesday, April 6, to choose three people who will help decide the direction our educational system takes in the next few years.

Not only do school board members play a key role in determining the type of education provided to students, the board plays a significant role in making certain that Liberty and that portion of Kansas City North within in the district’s boundaries continues to be a beacon for families that value excellent schools.

Before they head for the polls, though, voters should inform themselves about the candidates running for three seats. Like many other school districts, Liberty faces difficult challenges as it grapples with the sour economy and dwindling revenues.

District taxpayers are very lucky to have nine qualified, passionate and accomplished candidates from which to pick. The name of a 10th candidate, Cindy Kirtley, remains on the ballot even though she dropped out.

Three contenders, Lori Tritz, a consultant; Craig Porter, a businessman; and Jeff Willhite, a manager, are vying to fill an unexpired one-year term.

Although all three could fill the seat admirably, our choice is Craig Porter, a former Clay County commissioner, businessman and real estate developer.

As a former commissioner, Porter is accustomed to dealing with large budgets and has well-honed skills on where cuts could be made. Few, if any, of the candidates brings his grasp of tax increment financing and its ramifications for a growing district. As a builder and lumberyard owner, Porter also has extensive knowledge of construction projects, a particularly valued skill as the district builds a new high school and deals with growth. He is also a strong advocate for teachers and students.

For one of the two, three-year terms, our clear choice is Carlin Walker, a government auditor and under-appreciated whistleblower that brought to light widespread financial mismanagement and inappropriate spending by some former administrators and former board members. The information uncovered by a state audit led to changes in the way the district now handles and accounts for the taxpayers’ money.

Because of Walker’s tenacity and courage, the district was able to take decisive action to avert financial disaster. It has not been easy to find ways to cut millions of dollars and many challenges still face the district. With Walker on the board, we feel confident that actions will be taken with full disclosure and transparency. He has pledged to restore an open forum so that patrons can voice concerns to their elected officials. Walker also supports televising board meetings.

Although we’re disappointed that D. Scott Connor, a former IT professional and now stay-at-home dad, has not voted in previous school elections, he has a slight edge over his competitors. He was appointed late last year to fill the unexpired term left by the resignation of Cindy Dunlap. Serving on the board for the last several months while significant cuts were made to popular programs has given him experience and insight into the direction the district needs to go. He has also shown that he has the courage to fight for his convictions as he did for the elementary health program.

We were also impressed with Jim Linderer, an operations and compliance director, who cared enough to go vote in April elections. He came across during a candidates’ forum as intelligent, concerned and caring about all children’s education, not just his own. We urge him to stay involved by offering to serve on education-related committees and consider running next year, when three board seats will be up for grabs.