FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The migration of people and tax dollars from the eastern to the western part of Broward County has created a learning curve, and both candidates for District 1 of the county school board believe it needs to be leveled.

District 1 is one of the oldest school districts in the county, including parts of Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach and Davie.

Ann Murray, the transportation manager of Broward County Public Schools, is one of the two candidates running for the district's seat on the school board. Murray began her career as a school bus driver 30 years ago and worked her way up the ranks.

The Massachusetts native is a mother of five children, all of whom attended Broward County Public Schools. She has been a community activist in Hollywood for 40 years.

As transportation manager, Murray takes credit for increasing student ridership and at the same time taking more than 20 gas-guzzling buses off the streets. That record of trimming the fat, she said, has prepared her to preside over a dwindling, tax-funded school budget.

"For every bus that we take off the road, that's a teacher's job that we've been able to secure," Murray said. "The thing is, each department within the system has the ability to tighten up and to do what has to do."

Murray's opponent is 41-year-old Richard Saltrick, a lifelong Broward County resident who parleyed his public school education into a master's degree in public policy from Harvard College. The Hollywood resident is a civil engineer by trade and a married father of a 2-year-old daughter.

Saltrick believes that teacher salaries and school safety should be priorities in the district's budget. He wants equal portions of the budget spent between the schools in the eastern and western parts of Broward County.

Saltrick said his education and experience qualify him to help the district navigate these tough economic times.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent in construction a year. They could use somebody on the board who has construction experience," Saltrick said.

The winner of the District 1 race will replace school board member Eleanor Sobel who is giving up her seat to run for the Florida Senate.