WARWICK — There’s no lack of choices for voters in Tuesday’s six-way nonpartisan primary for the two citywide two seats on the School Committee.

One of the seats is held by Chairman Christopher E. Friel, who is seeking a second four-year term. The other is held by Joyce Andrade, who is running as an independent for the City Council.

Besides Friel, the candidates in Tuesday’s primary are Richard Cascella Jr., Aaron Guckian, Patrick E. Maloney, Kevin McAteer and Kevin Oliver. The top four vote-getters will win slots on the November ballot.

FRIEL, 34, says he wants to continue to guide the district during tough financial times. “I think it takes at least a couple of years to understand the ins and outs of the system, and I’d like to use my experience,” he said.

Friel, a lawyer with a local practice, acknowledges the School Committee has make some difficult and unpopular decisions during his tenure — among them closing three elementary schools. Also, multimillion-dollar deficits have come to light and are yet to be fully explained.

“I want to stay on and make sure we get the answers we need and the answers the public deserves,” Friel said. “Ever since I’ve been on the board I’ve made a concerted effort to be as open as possible, and that’s why I’m backing the call for an independent audit. I do believe that I provide a fair voice and, as a parent of three young children, I’m looking out for the quality of local education while also being mindful of taxpayers’ resources.”

CASCELLA, 46, a local Realtor, says he can bring his business and building knowledge to the school board and sees the citywide seat as a good opportunity despite the many challenges facing the district.

“We won’t really know what happened without an outside audit,” he said, alluding to the deficit, “but I think that the superintendent, Dr. [Peter] Horoschak, has a watershed opportunity to put his methods in place.”

“I think this is an opportunity for him to take the reins and pull back a bit.”

A lifelong Warwick, Cascella has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Rhode Island College. He said he’d like to bring a team approach to running the district and solicit the input of all the unions and employee groups. “There should be openness, a common goal,” he said.

Cascella describes himself as high-energy, talkative and someone who occasionally “will put my foot in my mouth.” He said that people either “love me or hate me,” but that he always tells it like it is.

GUCKIAN, 32, said education has always been a priority in his life. He graduated from Connecticut College with a double major in music performance and education and worked for a short time as a teacher in North Kingstown.

His knowledge of education, coupled with commitment to public service, makes him a strong contender for the school board, he said. Guckian is a member of the Warwick Sewer Authority and is employed by Governor Carcieri’s administration as director of advance.

“I think in tough times like these you need good leadership and honest communication,” Guckian said, noting that before a recent report on last year’s schools deficit he had called for detailed monthly financial accounting to be presented to the school board.

He said he would look for creative ways to save money rather than simply cutting programs. He said he’d like to see the schools partner with the city to save money on functions such as computer departments and other operations.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat anything –– we are in tough times, but I think someone experienced in education who deals with the issues as they are presented can help the School Department and therefore the city go forward,” Guckian said.

MALONEY’S Web site –– www.maloney4schools.com –– confirms two things he says about himself: He’s an organized neatnik and he’s determined and energetic in his first bid for the School Committee.

A teacher of computer technology at Gibbs College, Maloney, 37, said he wants to make the school district better for taxpayers and students alike. He and his wife have three young children and are involved in volunteering at the John Francis Brown Elementary School.

His work with the school motivated Maloney to get involved on a district-wide level, and he says he’s not going to pretend to have all the answers. One of the most important skills he will bring to the table, he said, is the ability to listen –– whether it be to administrators or members of the district’s unions.

“I’m very committed to making sure we get the job done right even if it means taking the time to get all the answers I need to make the correct decisions,” Maloney said. “I come from a technical background and may be able to look at some things from a different point of view,” said Maloney. A four-year Army veteran, he earned an associate degree from the University of Alaska at Anchorage while stationed in the 49th state. He has also taken courses a number of area colleges and is involved in coaching community soccer.

“I want the School Committee, the teachers and the parents all realize we have common goals and that in the end we want what’s best for our students,” Maloney said. “My main goal is just make things better for the city of Warwick.”

McATEER, making his first bid for the school board, says he wants to find new sources of revenue for the Warwick schools, given that state and federal support is dwindling. He said he is developing creative ideas, including a proposal that the school district sell the naming rights to some of facilities to generate the big money that businesses get for tagging sports arenas and the like. McAteer, who retired as a local school bus driver last year, said that he would make sure that a line was drawn between naming rights for facilities and allowing commercial promotion in the schools. “I’m just talking about a name going on the outside the building,” he said. “I’d rather see a corporate name placed tastefully and not have cut the budget.”

McAteer, 56, said that he thinks the School Committee has had to make very difficult cuts in the past year and that he would look for savings in middle management. “It might be a case of too many chiefs,” he said.

He said he supports the call for an independent audit of the schools’ finances but cautioned that the district should not rely too much on cutting nonprofessional staff or there will be no one left to care for the buildings.

OLIVER, 53, knows the Warwick schools inside and out –– literally –– after working in maintenance for the school district for 35 years. His job was eliminated in July when the district made budget cuts, but he said that if voters think he has an ax to grind, they need to think again.

He acknowledges that losing his job hurt, but he said that after awhile he decided to turn a negative into something good.

Oliver says his nine grandchildren are his main motivators.

“I sat back after I lost my job and said, ‘Now what am I going to do,’ ” Oliver said. “I want the best education for my grandchildren and I know that the Warwick schools have the potential. I figured it’s my turn to give back.”

A lifelong resident of the Oakland Beach area, Oliver has long been active in the neighborhood and is the organizer of the popular vintage car “Cruise Nights” that raise money for local causes. He said he would take an old-fashioned approach to the schools budget in that “You only spend what you have.”

“I feel like it’s time that I got in the driver’s seat,” he said. “I think I will do the best job not only for the children of Warwick but for the taxpayers.”

bpoliche@projo.com