Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 --- 11:40 p.m.

Wednesday, the Democratic Party of Dane County hosted an all-candidate forum for those running for a seat on the Madison Metropolitan School District Board.

All seven candidates were at the forum. Six of the seven are running for two open spots formally held by Beth Moss, and Maya Cole. While one candidate is running against incumbent James Howard.

Each candidate answered five questions. All of them were asked by moderator Nick Zweifel. Many issues came up including the budget, strategies to tackle the achievement gap, and school safety. Each candidate was given ninety seconds to answer each topic.

Primaries for the school board are set for February 19, 2013 with the general election taking place April 2, 2013.

Below is a list of all of the candidates running.

(Seat 3)

Dean Loumos
Wayne Strong

(Seat 4)

James Howard
Greg Packnett

(Seat 5)

Sarah Manski
TJ Mertz
Ananda Mirilli