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Name: Gordon Horst

Age:¬ 68

Education: Bachelor's in education from Emporia State University.

Family: Married, with two kids and seven grandkids.

Where you are from: "I was born in Wichita, grew up in Abilene and came to Salina for a teaching job in 1968."

Work experience, including your favorite job and why: Taught elementary school for five years, then went into management and sales. "I probably should have stayed in teaching."

Political experience: My only political experience has been in the local and state (Republican) Party. I've been a precinct committeeman, chair of the Saline County Republican Party and a delegate to state party meetings.

What should voters know about you: "I claim to be a moderate Republican, though my wife tells me I'm conservative. I have become very political, and I don't agree with the extreme Republicans in the Kansas House, which have become their own party. I'm in favor of compromise, not a 'My way, take it or leave it' approach."

What's the most important thing Salina schools do and why? "I think we have quality teachers and are a well-rounded school district for the most part. Being the size we are, we can offer a list of courses a Solomon or Ell-Saline couldn't offer."

Best and worst decisions the Salina School Board's made and why: The worst decision was closing all of those neighborhood schools, so they could expand a few. They could have done a lot of that work a little bit at a time, and not needed a bond issue.

"Building Lakewood Middle School would be the board's best decision. Kids were cramped at Roosevelt-Lincoln."

Why would you make a good school board member: My reason for running is my grandsons are in school here; that's my main reason. I'm not as educated as most of them, with just a bachelor's degree, but I think I'm more in tune with kids. Being an ex-teacher isn't enough in my book.

Greatest challenge facing the district? Money, the state's cutting funding. "Johnson County wants to raise the local-option budget, and we can't compete with Johnson County. It's going to come down to what can you cut without hurting."

Last time you were in a Salina school, and why: "Yesterday at South Middle School to see Robert Maynes. Last year, I sat in on my grandsons' classes for a day, and ate lunch with them."

Do you have, or have your had, children in the school district; what kind of education did they receive? "My grandsons are getting a good education, with the help of their mother and grandmother on homework. They're getting a better education than if they were home-schooled. Some kids, if they don't get it at school, they don't have a chance, because they don't get any help at home."

Are Salina schools adequately funded? "No, but we're at the maximum allowed by law. Schools are like a dry well. No matter how much money you put in, it's not enough."

If I could change one thing about the Salina district ...¬ "I know what the teachers want -- more money. The latest thing is to do away with books, and go to iPads, and that's something that needs looked into. They could be updated when they needed to be, and it could save money."

What drives you? My grandkids, helping them out.

Person you most admire: "My mother -- she always saved 10 percent of everything they made. Even when we were poor, with my dad on a teacher's salary, she'd save 10 percent. I've tried to do that, but it seems like something always comes up."

One thing people don't know about you: "As a kid, I ran around with a mischievous crowd. These days, they'd probably throw us in jail. Once the police were looking for an escaped convict; a couple of my friends got in the trunk of my car -- one had his hand hanging out. We went to a roadblock, and they knew us and waved us through -- and didn't see the hand until we were passed. The cops showed up at my house in the middle of the night."

Hobbies: "Fishing and hunting, but I don't do too much of that. I play a little golf -- I think one game last year. I have done some wood-carving in the past."

How much time spent daily online? Doing what? "I'll surf the Internet some at night -- and I'm trying to figure out Facebook. I get a lot of e-mail from people, and I do buy a few things online."

Favorite book, and last book read? "My favorite is 'How to Win Friends and Influence People.'

I'm working on 'It's My Party, Too' by Christine Todd Whitman. It's about the Republican Party, and conservatives who say we moderates aren't in the party any more."

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