Ledyard – Among the 11 candidates for nine seats on the Board of Education, there is a focus on maintaining quality programming for students as the district grapples with a lack of funding from the state.

The candidates running for election are Republicans Anthony Favry, Mike Brawner, Jesse James, Brittney Hedges, Robert Guerrera and William J. Snyder Jr.; Democrats Janis Vajdos, Kate DiPalma-Herb, Stephanie Calhoun and Gordon Strickland; and petitioning candidate George Hosey.

Hedges, a 21-year-old political science student at Three Rivers Community College, was inspired to run in part by her stepfather, state Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard. She became a part of the student government association on campus and wanted to get more involved in the community.

"Ledyard has such a great education that students come out with, and I'd like to see that sustained even through these hard monetary times," she said. Hedges has been living in Ledyard since 2013.

Hosey, 50, is also running for elected office for the first time. The device developer for ON Semiconductor would like to see improved parental involvement in the schools and expanded foreign language offerings.

Hosey, who has been active in coaching and refereeing youth sports, has children ages 6, 16 and 21.

Snyder, 39, is secretary of the Republican Party in Ledyard and said the decision was made for him to run for the board if the party could not find enough candidates to fill the slate.

Snyder works in the table games department at Mohegan Sun, and he has two daughters, ages 4 and 6. One of his passions is making sure music and arts programs aren't cut.

Overall, he said, "I think the Board of Ed, as a body right now, is running perfectly, and I would like for that momentum to continue the way it is."

Strickland, an information analyst at Sonalysts, sees it differently. Strickland, 51, sat on the Board of Education for 11 years before resigning in early 2015 "to take a break," and he hasn't liked what he's seen in the years since.

Strickland, who has two daughters in their 20s, said the board "seems like it's rudderless," has "seen no improvement in the school programs" and believes the focus hasn't been on the kids.

Another goal, if elected, is to expand Ledyard's agro-science program.

Favry, current chairman, and Guerrera separately told The Day they feel that dialogue between the Board of Education and the Town Council has improved in the past year.

Looking ahead, Guerrera pledges to focus on "realistic cuts and making sure that we're not affecting the children," supporting "a strong family structure" and keeping on top of technology.

Guerrera, 38, has two children, ages 8 and 4. He works as an assistant manager at Stop & Shop in East Hampton.

If re-elected, Favry, also 38 and with children of the same ages, would like to continue examining ways to save money by strategically bringing special education services back into the district.

Favry is responsible for East Coast market growth at MetLife and is running for his second term on the Board of Education.

Brawner, who filled the vacancy Strickland left in 2015, also stressed a need to bring more resources back into Ledyard instead of outsourcing, citing special education. Other goals for Brawner, 54, are to find ways to minimize the district's dependency on state funding, and to keep music and sports programming intact.

He has worked at Electric Boat for 20 years, is president of the Ledyard High School Athletic Booster Club and has three children, a 26-year-old and twins who are 20.

James, vice president of sales for US Foods, joined the Board of Education earlier this year, when Ingalls was appointed from the board to the Town Council to fill the seat Allyn III vacated to become mayor.

James, 47 with an 18-year-old son, would like to focus on looking at changes resulting from the state budget situation and is "passionate about bringing the school systems into a more modern time," whether it be regarding technology or what students are learning.

Vajdos also started serving on the board earlier this year, and her priority is "maintaining the quality programming that we offer in Ledyard," especially enrichment, arts, music and college prep curriculum. She would also like to see Project Lead the Way expanded into a pre-engineering program.

Vajdos, 43, is project manager at the France Foundation, a medical education company in Old Lyme. She has three children, ages 9, 13 and 16.

DiPalma-Herb, who has four children and stepchildren ages 4-24, served on the board in 2014 and 2015 but was not re-elected. Her priorities are supporting military families, focusing on special education programs and finding fiscally responsible ways to support students.

DiPalma-Herb, 41, is a quality control analyst at Electric Boat.

She serves as a trustee of the Ledyard Education Advancement Foundation, of which Calhoun is president. Calhoun, 43, wants to work on keeping up with curriculum — she likes the focus on STEAM, or science, technology, engineering, arts and math — and on keeping parents engaged.

She has four children, ranging in age from 7 to 16. Calhoun is director of development for the nonprofit Stonington Community Center.