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Voters will decide in two races who will best steer the Pima County Joint Technological Education District as it continues working through its growing pains.

The district was formed in 2006, after voters agreed to create a district that would overlay 11 local school districts in order to kick up career- and technical-education programs.

Supporters say the district has boosted career offerings throughout the county, although even district officials have acknowledged a slow start getting business partners on board and figuring out how to build enough programs to meet demand, especially in outlying areas.

Eleven people served on the board in its maiden year, each representing one school district. That number is being pared to five, with the districts mirroring the Pima County supervisor districts.

In three of the races, only one person ran for each slot, effectively ending the election.

Mary Jondrow, the current Governing Board chairwoman, will represent District 1. Government-relations specialist Alex Jacome, an incumbent initially representing the Sahuarita Unified School District, will serve District 3, and businessman Robert Schlanger will sit for District 5.

District 2, which covers the South Side and runs down to Sahuarita, initially had no takers, but two write-in candidates have emerged — Ruth Solomon, a former state senator and an incumbent currently serving on the board as the representative for the Tucson Unified School District, and Elena West, a Pima County employee.

Solomon, 66, said she's proud of her work as one of the founding Governing Board members. So far, the district has increased enrollment in career programs from 12,000 students to 17,500, with a focus on helping high school students earn college credit for their work, she said.

Going into Year Two, Solomon said, the board has improved collaboration with local businesses, including adding members to its industry advisory committee. Solomon said the district is trying to increase ways to serve students by offering more online coursework and opening new programs in outlying areas.

"JTED is what high school reform should be about and I want to be a part of that renaissance," she said, adding that education is key to economic sustainability.

West did not return five phone calls seeking an interview but did submit a statement to the Pima County School Superintendent's Office. In it, she said her children were educated in the Sunnyside Unified School District and students need a better grasp of technology to be prepared to compete in a global work force.

In District 3, which represents Ajo, Marana, Three Points and Avra Valley, incumbent Christopher Weiss, who represented Marana, is being challenged by vocational-education teacher Brian Forstall.

Weiss, who owns a computer firm and has served on the board since 2006, said he finds it rewarding to help students get a realistic understanding of the skills they need for college or a chosen career. In his own family, he said, not all of his seven children will go to college, so he's aware of the need for career training.

He said in his next term, he'd like to expand more real-world opportunities for students, including job shadowing and mentoring, to make the work more relevant. That will mean strengthening partnerships with local businesses, he said.

Forstall, the industrial-technologies coordinator for TUSD, credits the board with making great strides after its shotgun start.

His big concern is with equity for all school districts, he said, because outlying districts may lose out to the bigger, central districts. He said there also needs to be a greater focus on helping students identify their future careers early, so that they know what skills they need to develop from the day they start high school.

A former Marine who has worked on helicopters and has a pilot's license, Forstall said he can jump-start the program.

"I'm the person who gets things done. I'm not the guy who will say 'we can't do that' or 'we're not ready for a change,'" he said. "The board members are not in the trenches. I have been out there working with students and JTED and the Department of Education and I have a clear picture of where we need to go and what we need to do next."

Terms for the current board expire Dec. 31. The new board members will start their terms in January.