Editor's note: This is last of a series of profiles on candidates running for two seats on the Escondido Union High School District in the Nov. 4 election.

ESCONDIDO -- A frequent critic at school board meetings, Bill Durney wants to sit with the decision-makers now.

The 47-year-old IT consultant and small business owner said in a recent interview that he's running for a seat on the Escondido Union High School District because he can bring new ideas to the table.

Durney said he's particularly concerned about the district's dropout rate -- which at 17 percent is one of the highest in the county -- and standardized test scores showing that Escondido students are being out-performed by their peers in coastal districts.

"I think that maybe the schools need a little adjustment in the way things are going," Durney said. "We are spending a lot of time working on keeping the campuses looking great … but what are we doing to keep kids from dropping out?"

Durney said he's also running because he wants to help ensure that his 10-year-old daughter gets a good education when she starts high school in four years.

"Where is she going to go to school?" he said. "Will she get a good education at a public school?"

Durney has criticized the district's ballot measure on the Nov. 4 ballot. Known as Proposition T, the $98 million bond would be used both to overhaul the district's three traditional campuses and to build a 500-student medical and biotechnology magnet school in Durney's neighborhood in western Escondido.

District officials have said the improvements and the new campus would help reduce overcrowding at campuses.

Durney said he opposes the bond, saying "it's asking for too much at a time when people are hurting" financially in a spiraling economy.

Colleagues described Durney in recent interviews as patient, well-read and thorough in his decision-making.

"He is a down-home kind of guy," said Charles Foster, a customer of Durney's for the last decade. "I think that most people who are going to vote will appreciate that."