Four candidates want to change the face of the Hamilton County Board of Education, and they are banding together to run as a team.

Led by incumbent District 1 representative Rhonda Thurman, the group includes District 2 candidate Joe Dumas, District 4 candidate Gregg Juster and District 7 candidate Michael Dzik.

Although no voter can cast a vote in more than one district, Ms. Thurman said she is asking constituents to consider putting all four candidates on the school board.

“With five votes you can move the central office,” she said, referring to the fact that five votes is a majority on the nine-member school board.

The candidates, whose joint campaign slogan is “Back on Track 2008,” are focusing primarily on improving what they consider poor fiscal responsibility and school discipline.

“It’s time for somebody to worry about the kids and quit worrying about the administration,” Ms. Thurman said, “and this is the only way I know to do it.”

School board member Chip Baker, who is running against Dr. Dumas for re-election in District 2, said he was offended that Ms. Thurman thought the current school board had spent money irresponsibly.

“For her to have that opinion, she is sadly in error,” he said. “She’s creating her own scenario. It’s a fantasy that she’s created in her own mind.”

Ms. Thurman, who is running unopposed, said she personally sought out Dr. Dumas and Mr. Juster to run in districts 2 and 4, and then she decided to endorse Mr. Dzik for District 7.

“We just found people we knew who were very conservative-type people and asked them to run for school board,” she said.

While he agrees with Ms. Thurman and the other candidates on “the big issues,” Dr. Dumas said he would think for himself if elected.

“We’re not lockstep on everything,” he said. “I’m not going to say we’d vote together every single time.”

Despite pledges of individuality, Mr. Baker said he was concerned that the four candidates would have more allegiance to each other than to the constituents they represent.

District 4 candidate Gregg Juster said the candidates “just wanted people to know there’s a group of us that have similar ideas that need to be changed on the school board. We felt like the train got a little off the track.”