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"Three seats on the South Kitsap School Board are vacant, and four candidates — including one who ran for Kitsap County sheriff last year — are willing to fill them.Incumbents Jim Huff, Keith Garton and Terri Washburn are up for reelection. Huff and Garton filed this week to run again, but Washburn will retire from the board after 14 years.The official candidate filing period ended yestesday. Through Thursday, Huff was the only person who filed for his position. Garton will be challenged by John Kosinski, a shipyard worker. And one candidate—Mike Davis, the Sheriff Department’s chief of detectives—has filed for Washburn’s seat.Davis, former county undersheriff who lost in last fall’s primary election race for sheriff, has been a key player in promoting school safety in South Kitsap schools. Serving on the School Board is just another way for him to get involved in the district, he said. He is familiar with the way the school board works because he served on the Bremerton school board for four years.He said he the positive happenings in the school district should be promoted. “If the community understands the positive things that are going on in the district, they will be more likely to pass the levies that come up,” he said.Davis would also like to improve the school facilities in the district and see a second high school built to alleviate the district’s lone, overcrowded high school.The main thing that motivated Kosinski to run is his feeling that the school district wastes money “on hiring administrators and not teachers.“I’m trying to look out for taxpayers and make sure their money is spent to improve education,” he said.Kosinksi also said students need to have more of a voice in decisions that affect their education. He hopes to get students more involved in decision-making.Huff advocates a new high school and an after-hours bus for schools.“Many kids can’t participate in after-school activities because they have no transportation home afterward,” Huff said. “We’ve got to get kids involved.”Garton was unavailable for comment.The primary election will be Sept. 14, followed by the general election Nov. 2."

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