Election Day is just around the corner and all the three of the local school districts will be selecting people to serve on the various boards.
In the Warsaw R-9 District, the two candidates who filed to run are Dr. Amber Campbell and Bradly Wright.
Campbell has served on the board for the past three years. She has been a physician at Golden Valley Clinic in Warsaw for the past 15 years. She and her husband Gary Roberts are the parents of two JBMS students; Amelia, 14 and Connor, 12.
A 1994 graduate of WHS, Campbell serves on the Board of Education because she cares about the education of all the children in the Warsaw District.
“I want to do what is best for our kids, faculty, staff and administrators," she said. "I am a graduate of WHS and I felt well prepared for college. I want to make sure we continue the excellent traditions of Warsaw R-9.”
Campbell is hopeful for the passage of Proposition KIDS.
“We need to make some repairs at both elementary schools and the high school needs more bathrooms,” said Campbell. “I would like to see preschool at both elementary schools to make it more convenient for parents. Our enrollment is climbing so we need to prepare for that.”
Bradly Wright is also a candidate for the Warsaw R-9 School Board. Wright is the park manager for the Corps of Engineers Truman Lake Project. Wright and his wife Sarah are the parents of a JBMS sixth grader, Austyn, and a South School third grader, Blake.
A 2000 graduate of Skyline High School, Wright has been involved in the Warsaw Adventure program as well as the City of Warsaw Drake Harbor project.
Wright said he took a job at Warsaw to be closer to his family’s farm in Urbana.
Wright decided to become a school board member to help the district any way he could. He said he was hopeful for the passage of the bond issue to improve the buildings in the district.
Since Campbell and Wright are running unopposed, they will both be sworn in as board members in April.
Lincoln R-2 School District will have three board candidates on the ballot April 2.
Lori Eifert is running for a seat on the Board of Education. Eifert and her husband Brian have two sons in school at Lincoln; Westin, 14 and Brady, 9. Lori has a BSBA in finance from UCM and Brian is a farmer.
Eifert is running to make a difference in the education of all the children in the Lincoln district.
“I have always wanted to be more involved in the school and I decided this would be a way to make a difference,” said Eifert.
Another candidate for the Lincoln School Board is Angela Parrott who is currently a school board member. Parrott and her husband, Jason are the parents of two boys; Devon, 21 and Dawson, 16.
Parrott’s reason for running is to serve her community and make sure things are done right.
“I want whatever is good for our school and our students,” said Parrott.
The Parrots moved to Lincoln from Arkansas and wanted a small school for their boys.
The third candidate for the Lincoln School Board is Jason Smallwood. Smallwood and his wife Lacey are parents of two boys; Cooper, 22 and Caden, 20, and have one daughter; Camryn, 15.
A 1996 graduate of Warsaw High School, Smallwood and his wife are lifelong Benton County residents.
Smallwood is excited about the improvements Lincoln has made in the past several years and looks forward to the many activities in the new Lincoln gym which should be finished by the next school year.
“I want to make sure we are doing what is best for all our students,” said Smallwood.
In Cole Camp, Rick Grunden and Jordan Kyle are running unopposed for a three-year term on the Cole Camp R-1 Board of Education.
Zack Lutjen and Pete Pierson are contesting one another for a one-year term due to the resignation of Eric Hoke.
The Enterprise reached out to Cole Camp candidates; Jordan Kyle, Rick Grunden, Zack Lutjen and Pete Pierson, but were unable to obtain responses by press time. It is the hope to include their bios and interviews in next week's edition of the Benton County Enterprise.
