The deadline is 5 p.m. today to file for candidacy in board of education races for South Callaway R-II School District and New Bloomfield R-III School District; and city council or alderman positions in Mokane, New Bloomfield and Holts Summit.
Mokane
Incumbent Mokane councilwomen Lori Lamons and Jo Belmont have both filed to retain their seats, and are so far unopposed.
Mokane's council positions are at large, meaning any registered voter who lives within the city limits can vote for those candidates - rather than having specific districts or wards.
Lamons said she had no specific goals for a new term, and that "I like being on the board so I know what's going on in town."
Belmont, who was born in Chicago, said she originally ran for council because it gave her an opportunity to be more involved in her adoptive community while having a hand in its future.
"Mokane is a nice little town, and with everything happening around ... I just want to be more a part of the community and helping Mokane to grow and thrive."
Belmont said her main goals were to see Mokane become more popular and ensure the city grows, citing potential opportunities with the Callaway Energy Center and other major industries and employers in the county.
New Bloomfield
School Board
Three incumbents on the New Bloomfield Board of Education are currently unopposed and have their sights on continuing the district's initiatives. Those incumbents are Gracia Backer, president of the board, Debbie Cuno and Craig Abbott.
Backer said she wants the board - which she described as a team - to further the "great progress" the school has made.
She said improving the district's finances is important not only for the school, but for the community. The district, she added, is New Bloomfield's largest employer with 80 people working at the schools.
"We don't have stockholders. We have stakeholders," Backer said.
Debbie Cuno said the board can continue to acheive success by working with superintendent David Tramel.
When she first joined the board in 2011, Cuno said the district was struggling financially and had to make difficult decisions on where to make budget cuts. In order to save money, Cuno said high school teachers started teaching middle school classes and, therefore, certain high school courses were dropped from the curriculum. She also said the district has one part-time music teacher.
Craig Abbott said the school's finances are key. Abbott was elected treasurer three years ago and worked to advance the school's balance reserve from six percent to 21 percent. This puts the district in a "much better position" financially, Abbott said in an email. Being a better financial position, could allow the board and school officials to make progress on facility and technology upgrades, Abbott said.
Abbott stressed his focus on student achievement and, with that, a correlating focus on a technology plan.
"As we are all aware we are certainly living in a technology driven era and we need to make sure that the district is keeping up with the times," Abbott said. "We have put interactive boards and projectors in our classrooms, and we now have fixed and mobile computer labs but we need to push very hard in this area to ensure our students are set for tomorrow."
South Callaway Board of Education
Kit Glover, current president of the South Callaway Board of Education, has filed for re-election. She said she "ultimately wants what's best for kids."
If she's re-elected, Glover said she wants to see through the iPad deployment, incorporating more textbooks and curriculum on the new technology. As an educator for 19 years, Glover said she wants to keep track of the MSIP5 standards and how those will be implemented at South Callaway.
Glover also said she would like to have security has a priority in terms of school safety and bullying.
Michael Benningfield of Mokane, who has never held a school board seat, also filed for the election.
Benningfield said he would like to continue the progress South Callaway has made, while maintaining and possibly adding more qualified administrators and teachers.
Benningfield called the iPads an "effective tool" for learning and, like Glover, would like to see that technology become more and more apart of the students' learning experiences. He said the Ipads are effective long-term.
The incumbents, Brent Woods and Mark Laughlin, have also filed for re-election but were unavailable for comment.
Water District
Callaway County Water District has one opening for the director of sub-district five.
Ron Berendzen, the incumbent and eight-year holder of the position, said it's his duty to continue serving in his position.
"I believe it's my civic duty to help where I'm needed," he said, "and currently that's on the board of directors in Water District One."
For more information on requirements to run for office, contact Callaway County Water District in Holts Summit at 896-4788.