By Matt Wilson

For the FCT

Democratic candidate Pat Cochran won the Franklin County Board of Education District 3 over Scotty Raper, his Republican opponent, 747 votes to 457 votes.

Cochran said it was very humbling to be elected.

“I could not have done it without the help and support of my friends and family,” Cochran said. “I told folks not to vote for me unless they were ready to help out and go to work.”

Raper said in an earlier article that he didn’t think one person should be in office that long and that he thought it was time for a change.

Raper and Cochran both grew up and attended Vina High School, which is in District 3 of the Board of Education. Both candidates said their plans for helping the school district included addressing any problems and helping the faculty and parents to work together.

“I don’t feel like there is anyone else out there that will work as hard for our school as I will,” Cochran said.

“I want the parents to feel confident that their children will be getting the best education possible,” Cochran said. “I hope to work with the school board so that our county will be proud of each school and our school system as a whole.”

The next Franklin County Board of Education meeting is Nov. 18 and Cochran said he is excited to get started.

“I’m ready to get to work and try and get some things accomplished,” Cochran said. “I’m focused on getting the faculty and parents to work together so we can make our schools the best they can be. I want the students and the faculty to have pride in their schools.”