The race for an open seat on the St. Helena Unified School District board of trustees will come down to two candidates: Roger Adams and Kevin Alfaro.

Adams and Alfaro were the only people to file for the Nov. 3 mail-in election. Ballots will be sent in October to all registered voters in the St. Helena Unified School District.

Alfaro, a certified public accountant, is one of the organizers of the campaign to recall the four members of the current school board.

Adams, a retired teacher, principal and superintendent, opposes the recall, saying it would “hurt a lot of really nice people.”

A group of parents and others launched the recall after raising concerns about the board’s decision not to conduct a wide job search to seek a replacement for Superintendent Allan Gordon. The board elected to name then-Assistant Superintendent Rob Haley to the post.

Recall proponents also have raised a host of questions about school budget priorities and retirement packages granted to Gordon and others. School board officials defend their actions.

Both candidates acknowledged that the recall will be an issue in the campaign, but not necessarily the most important one.

Adams said students’ education should be a key issue. He said he wants kids to get a strong grounding in basic subjects, as well as foreign languages, vocational arts, agriculture, performing arts, health and technology.

“I happen to think that the St. Helena system has an outstanding educational program,”  Adams said. “They have a lot of money, they spend a lot of money, and they do a lot of great things.”

He added that he believes communication between administrators, the board and the public must improve.

“But I don’t think there need to be a lot of changes administratively, period,” he said.

Adams is a member of the St. Helena Rotary Club. Last year, he served on the homeowners’ board at Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Park.

Alfaro said his campaign will stress fiscal responsibility, transparency, holding administrators accountable and creating a more open dialogue between the board and the community. He wants a board “that leads instead of follows.”

“Staying informed about Basic Aid legislation, planning for budget cuts and trimming where we can without affecting student services are very important issues,” Alfaro said, adding he wants to put more money in teachers’ hands and “reduce administrative bloat.”

Alfaro is the treasurer of the local Boys and Girls Clubs and sits on the boards of Napa Community Bank, the Robert Louis Stevenson Parent Group and the Napa Valley Wine Library Association.

Alfaro said he doesn’t know much about Adams, “but I’m probably a little more closely oriented with the school district. I have children in the district, so I have a long-term vested interest. I’ve spent a lot of time researching financial numbers and looking at how the district works.”

Alfaro said his campaign won’t interfere with the recall effort because the deadline to submit signatures for the recall is Sept. 15. Ballots for the school board election won’t be sent out until October.

Adams said he’ll run a low-key, low-cost campaign that will probably stop short of door-to-door canvassing. At this point, he doesn’t plan to print any lawn signs, but he said he might have to if Alfaro does.

Alfaro said he “won’t spend a lot of money,” but he will canvass door-to-door and probably print lawn signs.

The winner will serve the remainder of Jim Haslip’s term, which expires in November 2010.

Now, Adams doesn’t intend to run for re-election in 2010, but he hasn’t ruled it out. Alfaro said he’ll definitely seek another term.