Matthew Marx

Dispatch Staff Reporter

Twenty people attended the gathering with state Rep. William Schuck and former Columbus school board president Mary Jo Kilroy, who are seeking the office held by Dorothy Teater.

Schuck criticized the Columbus Public Schools for what he said are crumbling buildings and racial inequities -- things that he said worsened during Kilroy's eight-year tenure on the Board of Education.

³Some are as bad or worse than before busing started. . . . There is a record to contrast,'' said Schuck, a Republican from Columbus. ³Who can best manage the county?''

Kilroy, a Democrat, defended her record, saying she fought for equity and school improvements but was hamstrung by inadequate state funding.

She needled Schuck on votes he cast in the Statehouse last year against children's health-care and public-transportation measures.

Schuck countered that he voted for both bills before they went to the Ohio Senate but couldn't support them after revisions and pork-barrel additions.

The candidates also took questions, giving answers about minority hiring, day care, job training and urban planning.

³As our county continues its growth and development, we need to make sure the neighborhood grows strong,'' Kilroy said.

The candidates didn't strike a chord with Dexter Green, 43, of the North Side, a computer instructor at the Urban League. He remained undecided after the hourlong session.

³I felt both candidates had some initiatives that would be good,'' he said. ³It seemed like they spent a lot of time talking about schools when there are other things going on in the city.

³There was a lot of mudslingling between each of the parties, which you expect in an election year. We got a little taste of it, but they did it in a dignified way.''

Kilroy and Schuck are vying for a seat that has been held by Teater, a Republican, for 16 years. Teater has decided to step down from the job.