The two candidates for Southeast Broward's District 1 School Board seat say they want better technology in schools and a harder look at the school district budget.

And in the August primary, they gathered nearly the identical number of votes.

But the candidates couldn't be more different.

Ann Murray, 65, is a veteran school district bus supervisor who went back to college after retiring and earned an associate's degree in 2002, then rejoined the district in 2006.

Rick Saltrick, 41, oversees building projects for the city of Miami Beach and has a master's degree from Harvard. ''We are very different personalities from very different backgrounds,'' said Saltrick, who won 30 more votes than Murray in August, but not enough to be declared the winner.

On Nov. 4, both want to capture the seat vacated by Eleanor Sobel, who is running for state Senate. The district includes Southeast Broward, from Hallandale Beach to Hollywood.

FINANCES

Murray said she has run a grass-roots campaign, hosting breakfasts, spaghetti dinners and church forums in addition to knocking on residents' doors.

According to the most recent campaign finance reports, she has raised about $23,000, the bulk of it coming from self loans.

Saltrick, who has also pounded the pavement, has raised nearly $99,000, none of it from his own pocket.

The seat will be up for grabs again in 2010 because the winner is filling out the rest of Sobel's four-year term.

That means the new board member won't have time to ease into the job, Murray said, making her the best candidate because of her familiarity with the school district and the responsibilities she has had managing people and budgets.

''I'm answering to principals and parents and been able to say yes and no,'' she said. ``I'm convincing them that even though they're not getting what they want, it's in the best interest of the kids.''

In one letter of praise for her ability to organize field trips for thousands of students, one person wrote: ``I don't think the invasion of Normandy was as well planned.''

BACKGROUNDS

Murray, a widow and longtime resident, has several grown children who attended Broward schools.

Saltrick, the son of teachers and a South Florida native, has a 2-year-old daughter.

Murray's long history with the district includes winning a class-action lawsuit in 1983 after she and other bus drivers were suspended for more than 50 days because of an old rule that limited the weight of female drivers. The rule was changed as a result of Murray's suit so that weight couldn't be the sole reason a driver failed a physical.

Both candidates have been involved in Hollywood city government. Murray has unsuccessfully run for the City Commission twice. Saltrick sits on the city's Development Review Board and is a past member of the Citizenship Transportation Committee.

Saltrick, who has the Broward Teachers Union's endorsement, has said one of his priorities is making sure teachers are well-paid. The district and union are at an impasse over raises for next school year.

Saltrick was such a needed addition to the city of Miami Beach that when he was hired in 2006 he was offered 36 percent more than the advertised starting salary for his current job.

IDEAS

Saltrick said his experience with building is needed across the county, and believes some of the latest ideas in educational architecture don't cost more but require a new way of thinking.

For example, instead of grouping high school teachers by subject, they could be grouped by a theme such as medicine. Then each subject-area teacher would reference the theme in their lessons.

His construction experience is especially important in District 1, he said, where construction of a Hollywood elementary school has slowed and schools need renovating.

The school construction adjacent to Lincoln Park is the city's first new school in 38 years.

''One of the things that I do is build things,'' he said. ``Construction is dirty and messy and always takes too long. Particularly the School Board member representing this district needs to make sure it's as clean as it can be and as fast as it can be.''

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