MARIETTA - Tom Cheater, Marietta School Board Ward 6 candidate, said attracting more students to Marietta Schools is key to the district surviving the present economy in good shape.

Such a challenge is why Cheater, 49, feels he is the best candidate to fill the seat on the board that Tom Smith is stepping down from. Cheater faces Michelle Cooper Kelly in the election.

"We had a $2.5 million austerity cut that the board just got handed down at the beginning of the year," Cheater said. "I suspect that we're going to see more cuts handed down from the state. On top of that, we're likely going to have reduced tax inflows from more people moving out of the area."

His solution is to work with city leaders to improve Marietta and develop it into a place where people work, locate their business and enroll their children in school.

"We've got to improve the perception of the Marietta district to get more businesses, including increasing that tax base for us here," he said.

Cheater said the next school board has to find an efficient way to utilize its roughly $80 million budget, while maintaining its first priority of educating students. He said the board and Marietta Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck have performed well.

Cheater also said he would work to improve parental involvement in Ward 6.

"We have two of the largest elementary schools over there, Lockheed and Sawyer. We've got about 1,400 students enrolled right now. We should see a lot more parent involvement coming in from those areas," he said. "Parent involvement is going to translate into student performance, more people being interested in staying in Marietta and coming to Marietta."

Another area Cheater wants to see improvement, on a districtwide level, is that of expanding the arts program in schools. He said such programs tend to drop off in middle high schools.

"Study after study have shown that when kids are involved in the arts programs - whether it be visual arts, performing arts or music - there is a direct connection between their success in school and later on," Cheater said.

Improvement in student performance on tests and in graduation rates will be another priority for Cheater, he said, if elected.

"We've done great setting our sights academically," he said. "I think what we need to do now is improve district perception of our school system."

He knows many Marietta families sending their children to private school, and said he believes school choice, which he supports, has kept parents in the Marietta school system who may have otherwise left.

He said his own experience makes him qualified to sit on the board. In 2003, he campaigned for the SPLOST vote to build Sawyer Road. He is the PTA communications director at Marietta Sixth Grade Academy and he served two terms as Sawyer Road PTA treasurer.

Cheater works for British Telecom Global Services as a general manager in global portfolio and partner management.

"I've developed a lot of skill sets working with people across diverse financial issues. Within my company, I control a $300 million budget. So, I'm very familiar with what it takes to get things done across geographic and cultural boundaries," he said.

Cheater and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of twin 11-year-olds Nicholas and Jordan, who attend Marietta Sixth Grade Academy. He graduated from Springfield High School in Philadelphia and from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. He also attended Widener University in Chester, Pa.