That's long enough, one opponent says.

Bob Yoder has been the most conspicuous of the six candidates running for three seats this fall.

The East Row neighborhood activist, 40, often attends board meetings. He issues press releases with titles like, "It's time to make Newport stadium smoke free!" And this summer he filed an open-meetings complaint with the state attorney general, claiming the school board improperly blocked a videographer from taping a meeting.

The man was turned away only because the board wanted assurance the production would be professional, board Chairman Tete Turner said.

The attorney general sided with Yoder, saying citizens couldn't be blocked from recording public meetings. The board has pledged to put its meetings on cable soon.

Yoder moved to Newport in 1998 and is the father of a 3-year-old. Among his goals: To make the school system more accessible to the public and higher-achieving, thereby discouraging families from moving.

The response from the incumbents: We're already working on it.

"Test scores are up. Attendance is up. We're very solid, financially," says Turner, 58.

Other incumbents seeking re-election are Jim Hesch, 45, and Steve Duve, 49.

All three are graduates of Newport High School. Turner has been on the board for 26 years, Hesch for 16 and Duve for six.

The other challengers are Andrea Janovic and Rob Rummel, who did not return phone calls seeking comment.

For many years, there was little public interest in the operation of the Newport School District, whose test scores rank in the bottom 15 percent statewide.

This year, parents concerned about the quality of the school system formed an advocacy group called the Community Partnership for Newport Independent Schools.

The school board is embracing the new spirit, Turner said.

It recently hired marketing expert Bill Shamblin as its full-time communications director.

He'll work on promoting the district, improving its Web site, putting meeting agendas online and preparing the cable production.

The three incumbents say they also scored a coup this summer in luring Michael Brandt, former superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools, out of academia to run the Newport system. He replaced Dan Sullivan, who had been superintendent for many years.

Using grant money from the city, Brandt has arranged for an extensive audit of the district by SchoolMatch, a consultancy firm. It will compare the district's performance and operation with those of other school systems that have similar demographics but higher achievement. The incumbents expect recommendations that will help the district improve.

"Overall, we just want to raise our standards and expectations," Duve said.

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