By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

There are four people running for three positions on the Hays school board in the Nov. 7 general election.

Lance Bickle, incumbent, Mike Walker, and Sophia Young will be on the ballot, and Kevin Daniels is running as a write-in candidate.

Each elected board member will serve a four-year term.

Hays Post talked to each candidate, asking why they are running and what are their opinions on the upcoming $78.5 million bond issue, which is also up for a vote Nov. 7, school funding, district accreditation and other issues they feel are pressing for the school district.

Bickle, 40, a consultant, is serving in his first term on the school board. He is the current school board president and has served as president three of the four years he has been on the board.

Bickle is a graduate of Hays High School and Fort Hays State University.

He lives in Hays with his wife, Amanda. He has two children, ages 8 and 6 who attend third grade and first grade at Wilson Elementary School.

In his interview, Bickle talks about fiscal responsibility and the need for facility improvements at the district’s schools.

Advance voting begins Monday, Oct. 23 in the Ellis County Administrative Center, 718 Main St., Hays, through noon Monday, Nov. 6. Polls for the Tuesday, Nov. 7 general election are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Ellis County.