The Natrona County School Board has six seats up for election this fall, and the Committee to Encourage People to Run for the School Board is looking for candidates.

The committee is meeting for the first time at 11:30 a.m. today at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission building, 2211 King Blvd.

Chairman Joe Parrish said the committee intends to identify good candidates to run for a school board seat.

"I want to try to keep this a positive committee," Parrish said. "And it's not an effort to unseat anyone."

Parrish said the committee has only "pure motives" for encouraging dialogue among community members. Ideally, the committee will also help make it easy for someone to step out from the shadows and run for the school board, he said.

"We want representation from everywhere, not one school or one side of the issues," Parrish said.

The committee's mission statement says the group will "search out and encourage qualified candidates to run in the upcoming school board election. The committee will not try to control or promote specific issues. The committee will provide a forum where citizens can become informed about issues in order to make an informed decision at the ballot box."

"We're not controlling issues or dialogue," Parrish said. "We just want to have dialogue. Depending on who you talk too, some people think things are great, and some people think changes are needed."

Vice-chairman Miles Dahlby said he's on the committee in part to take an active role in his children's education.

"I'm interested in getting involved with the education of my children and the community in positive ways, with the idea that the more people involved, the better," Dahlby said.

The committee will spend its first meeting narrowing its focus and making sure concrete goals are set, Dahlby said. He also hopes the committee will provide the school board with the community input it's been trying to find, he said.

"I want this group to be able to help them in that endeavor," Dahlby said.

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com

If you go

The Committee to Encourage People to Run for the School Board will meet today at 11:30 a.m. The meeting is at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission, 2211 King Blvd., next to Three Crowns Golf Club.

For more information, contact Joe Parrish at (307) 797-1213 or at joeparrish@wyoming.com, or contact Miles Dahlby at (307) 237-0620 or at msdahlby@bresnan.net.