Chris Rivers has called for change for the Williston school district in the past.

Now Rivers wants the opportunity to help with those changes by working from within the system as a school board member.

Rivers, 44, is one of two challengers and an incumbent running for the two open seats on the board in the upcoming April 13 school board elections.

Rivers is running against Williston resident Timbo Williams and incumbent Doris Young.

Tommy Boyleston, the other board member whose seat is open for election, decided not to seek another term.

"I want to be an agent for change and help move Williston forward. I don't - in the past - like where priorities have been placed," he said.

Rivers is with project management and construction services at the Savannah River Site. In his job, Rivers handles the administration of subcontractor work, making sure they have done all the work for which they were hired. Rivers has also worked in procurement at SRS and in real estate in the past.

Rivers is a 1983 graduate of Williston-Elko High and earned a business administration degree from the University of South Carolina in 1988. He has two children in the district now. His wife, Tonja, is a sixth grade math teacher in the district.

"The experience and work I've done with a real estate company give me a lot to bring to the table," he said.

This is Rivers' first attempt at an elected office.

Rivers has been an advocate for building new school facilities if the district secured a $13.5 million school bond referendum.

The voters vetoed the referendum in the November 2008 general elections.

Three issues that Rivers would like to see the board address if he were elected would be academics, building conditions and discipline.

"The discipline and academics can work hand-in-hand to solve each other," Rivers said.

Besides being good trustees to the children, Rivers sees the school board as stewards to the taxpayers' investment in the district.

"We have a responsibility to the kids no doubt, but we have a big responsibility to the taxpayers as good stewards of the taxes," he said. "The school is the core of a community. As the school goes -- so goes your community. We need to be good stewards to the community."