BONSALL -- Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Bonsall Union School District's Board of Trustees in the Nov. 7 general election.

The race for three places on the five-member board comes as the district is looking at developing a traditional high school, considering what to do about the high cost of providing student bus service and rebuilding its oldest elementary school.

The three incumbents, Timothy Coen, Lou Riddle and Robert Turner, want to keep their posts. They are being challenged by Bill Bryant, Wendy Cwiklinski and Keith Way.

Board trustees are elected at-large by registered voters in the Bonsall school district.

Bonsall Union serves about 1,700 students who live Bonsall, as well as parts of Fallbrook and Oceanside.

The district has three elementary schools -- Bonsall Elementary, Bonsall West and Vivian Banks Charter School -- plus Norm Sullivan Middle School.

Trustees are elected to a four-year term. They are paid a $250 stipend monthly and are eligible for district-paid health insurance -- the same deal offered to district employees.

The North County Times sent questionnaires to all Bonsall school board candidates to learn more about them and the stance on some of the matters facing the district.

Way and Riddle did not respond to the questionnaire.

Riddle, 38, owns a construction company, and lives in Bonsall. Way, 43, is a computer engineer from Fallbrook.

Bill Bryant

Among the driving factors in Bryant's run for the school board is the district's transportation woes, he said.

Bonsall Union has been feeling a financial pinch by offering transportation with an aging fleet of buses. Last year, busing cost the district about $430,000.

Transportation and bus-related costs are among the biggest annual expenses for the district, after salaries and benefits, district Business Manager and Assistant Superintendent Wayne Jones said earlier this summer. The district has 11 buses, seven of which are more than 15 years old.

About 700 students are transported by the district's buses daily, at no cost to their parents. The district board has considered a busing fee in the past, but nixed those proposals following a groundswell of opposition from parents.

"We need to resolve the busing issue once and for all," Bryant said. "The district needs to do a better job at communicating the issue and the possible solutions to the parents and the taxpayers here in Bonsall.

"I tend to take a simplistic view on issues … and I believe it is up to the taxpayers to choose which way the district should go," he added.

Another big issue within the district, as Bryant sees it, is safety.

"My daughter was lost three times last year at the school," Bryant said. "This prompted me to take a closer look at the leadership within the district to ensure that safety, procedures and policies are being followed."

Bryant, 39, has lived in Bonsall for five years. He is vice president of sales for a company that provides technology solutions for schools and other educational institutions dealing with grades kindergarten through 12.

Tim Coen

Improving student test scores and improving teacher morale are the main achievements Coen would work toward if re-elected, he stated. He said he is running because he wants to continue serving the community.

"I've been very fortunate in my life and have enjoyed the opportunity to give something back …," he said. "I would like to improve the quality of our schools for the diverse populations that we serve."

Coen also noted that there is some unfinished business in the district that he wants to see to fruition.

"I would like to see through the replacement of Bonsall Elementary School and continue to seek unification of our district," he said.

Unification, a lengthy governmental process that could take years to accomplish, is a step the kindergarten- through eighth-grade district must take before it can operate its own high school.

Bonsall school district trustees have been talking about building a high school in Bonsall for several years.

The elementary district is now within the Fallbrook Union High School District, meaning most Bonsall students attend Fallbrook High School, where enrollment is already nearly 3,000 students.

Plans are in full swing to raze the nearly 40-year-old Bonsall Elementary and build a new campus on a track field next to the existing school. The aging campus has many electrical, plumbing and other problems and the classrooms are not equipped to handle technology, such as computers, used often as a teaching tool.

With 65.6 percent of the vote at the Nov. 8 special election, the district got the go-ahead to fund a major chunk of the approximately $21 million cost of rebuilding Bonsall Elementary with a $17 million bond. The remainder of the cost will be covered with district dollars and state funds, according to the district Assistant Superintendent and Business Manager Wayne Jones.

Coen, 52, is a physician who lives and practices in Fallbrook.

Wendy Cwiklinski

One of the main achievements Cwiklinski would work toward, if elected, is improved communication and increased collaboration among parents, district employees and the community, she said, in order to get input from those groups on issues before the board.

"This can be achieved by giving broader responsibilities to current site councils and improving communication avenues, especially taking advantage of available technology," Cwiklinski stated.

Site councils are advisory panels, each of which includes representation of parents and staff, at each school. These panels make recommendations to the district board.

Cwiklinski also noted that she wants to keep personnel pay commensurate with comparable districts to keep qualified teachers and employees.

"We can have beautiful facilities, but fail our children by not having experienced, qualified personnel to educate them," she added.

Cwiklinski, 46, is a homemaker who has lived in Oceanside for seven years.

Robert Turner

Like Coen, Turner stated that he wants to finish what he had a hand in starting: unification and getting Bonsall a traditional high school, and replacing the aged Bonsall Elementary School with a new building.

"The taxpayers approved a first-ever bond to improve Bonsall Elementary School. I feel responsible to make sure that bond money is spent as promised," Turner said.

Turner said he feels he has been involved, along with the other trustees, in setting policies that have been positive for the district -- such as initiating the unification process in the push for a high school.

"But unfortunately, the processes are all very slow to come about. I feel there's much more to be accomplished," he added.

Turner, 48, is the president and chief executive officer of an architectural design firm specializing in athletics facilities such as football stadiums and aquatic sports arenas. He lives in Fallbrook.

Contact staff writer Lorell Fleming at (760) 731-5798 or lfleming@nctimes.com.