Only 45 votes separated the two top candidates vying for an open Broward County School Board seat in the southeast end of the county.

Early morning election results sent Ann Murray and Rick Saltrick into a runoff in the three-way race for the District 1 seat.

Retired district maintenance supervisor Diane Ziol Caulfield gathered just 15 percent of the vote.

Murray, a school district transportation supervisor, won about 42 percent of the vote, and Saltrick, a civil engineer, captured about 43 percent -- their totals were separated by the 45 votes.

Murray and Saltrick, both of Hollywood, said Wednesday they will continue running their campaigns the same way they have been for the last few months.

Murray is touting her long experience working for the school district and a desire to reduce teacher turnover. She is running a low-cost campaign of knocking on doors and spreading word of her candidacy via other informal methods. She raised about $17,000 -- about one-fifth of Saltrick's $84,000 war chest.

''We're elated that we were able to do so well,'' said Murray, 65.

She watched the numbers roll in until about 11 p.m. at Benchwarmers Wings & Raw Bar in Hollywood.

Saltrick, 41, kept an eye on vote totals at his parents' home. He said with three candidates vying to fill the seat vacated by board member Eleanor Sobel, he wasn't entirely surprised by the need for a runoff.

''We need to look and see where we did well and where we didn't,'' Saltrick said.

Both want to improve technology and facilities in their eastern Broward district, where schools are older than in the faster growing western edge of the county.

Saltrick is also campaigning on a platform of raising teacher salaries, saving money on school construction projects and restoring confidence in middle and high schools.

Meanwhile, two School Board incumbents won reelection Tuesday night. • Robin Bartleman was elected to a second term in her countywide District 9 seat.

• Beverly Gallagher retained her District 2 seat for a third term representing southwest Broward.

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