Twenty-four-thousand students.
That's the responsibility James Hardy takes on as Akron's school board chief... and it hasn't been that long since he was one of them. In fact, he was a college student when first elected to the school board. The experience of campaigning locally for John Kerry and other Democrats inspired him to run.
James Hardy: "I was just starting my senior year of college, just coming off the 2004 election cycle, which I worked really hard in and obviously was disappointed with some of the outcomes I thought, you know, instead of griping about it, I should probably just put my name on the ballot."
Akron University politics professor Dave Cohen campaigned for his student, and he now covers Hardy's race in class . Cohen says the lesson is a long-shot can win.
Dave Cohen: "If you have the right kind of strategy, the right kind of tactics and if you have a good candidate - that's the most important thing. James is a good candidate. He has a very bright political future."
Jason Haas was one of a nonpartisan group of friends who campaigned for Hardy in 2005. Haas, won his own seat on the Akron School board last January. He says Hardy won support to become president after proving himself for two year's as vice president.
Jason Haas: "I think it shows, you spend a little bit of time with him you understand that once he outlines an object and takes strides toward it there's no reason not to take him seriously."
Hardy and the board are not always in sync though.Last year when the board mandated school uniforms, Hardy opposed it. He's a stickler for open processes and public debate which he felt didn't happen with the uniforms decision.
This big urban district faces tough choices in the year ahead. Akron and other cities likely face lower property tax revenues for schools, and Hardy's not expecting any significant reforms on the way Ohio funds schools. Governor Ted Strickland, he says,won't be able to help much.
James Hardy: "I think the governor has a great heart, and he wants to do what he set out to do, but here's the issue. The economy went south farther than anyone ever thought possible. "We need to kind of take the pressure off the governor a little bit and look at what is possible. If we can just maintain, that's a good day for us."
No way is a tax levy in the cards, Hardy says, so something has to give. Foregoing raises has been discussed. But Hardy won't say more.
And Hardy says the district has to save more money by closing some elementary schools.
James Hardy: "Eventually what's going to happen if we don't end up making a fix, what's going to happen is it doesn't matter how much you cut, every district - whether you're rural, suburban or urban, is you're going to have to go on the ballot all the time just to turn the lights on."
School board members get paid $100 per meeting. Hardy makes his real living working for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner as a liaison to Ohio boards of election.
Before the school board and the secretary of state, Hardy once briefly entertained thoughts of another career. Until 2006 he was lead singer of the local band Crimson Rain.
James Hardy: "Our claim to fame was opening for David Lee Roth."
He explains the time by saying it wasn't exactly life in the fast lane.
James Hardy: "We were pretty tame, my bass play is in his third year of divinity school."
And a month after Hardy joined the school board, he was offered a once in a lifetime chance for a self-described political junkie. Six months in New York City working for President Bill Clinton. He took the job but stayed on the school board, and flew home every week to attend meetings. He's says keeping a commitment is a lesson he learned from his parents.
James Hardy: "My parents value public service, specifically education. Growing up in that family instilled that in me. I think teaching, and in a broader sense working with children, is probably the most honorable profession in the world. You get to change the future. I know that sounds hokey but it's absolutely true."
James Hardy presides over his first school board meeting tonight.
Kymberli Hagelberg, 90.3.