OUR VIEW: Hutchins and Houck best bets for School Board

» The Star-Exponent editorial board endorses incumbents Elizabeth Hutchins and Bob Houck.

On the Nov. 3 ballot, there are two contested School Board races, with Elizabeth Hutchins taking on Rich Goff in the Cedar Mountain District and Bob Houck running against John Cerio in West Fairfax. After interviewing all four candidates, Hutchins and Houck earn our endorsements. ...

n Hutchins is facing Goff in a rematch of 2005, an election Hutchins, a former educator, won handily. We anticipate history repeating.

While the rambling Goff remains hung up on his talking points from 2005, Hutchins steadfastly continues as a hardworking representative of her district, nicely adapting to a lesser role in the board’s new power structure.

Hutchins has weathered her share of storms this term, most notably disagreements with county supervisors and other School Board members over budget matters and the departure of political ally David Cox. But with a new superintendent and a reality that double-digit increases to the budget are economically unfeasible, those days are in the past. And now that everyone is on the same page, going forward, we expect Hutchins’ expertise and leadership to play a big part in brighter days for Culpeper County Public Schools. ...

- In the West Fairfax race, both Houck and Cerio would be fine choices. In fact, both men share a lot of similarities, making this race tough to pick. But when forced to choose one candidate, Houck’s deep roots in the community and slight edge in School Board experience make him our choice.

Cerio would no doubt be a solid public servant, but Houck has already spent a few months on the board and was a consensus selection by his peers to fill the vacancy created by Jimmy Lee’s resignation.

In addition to Houck’s laid-back style, we especially like his ideas on fiscal responsibility and technical and college prep education.