5 vie for seats on Blair Oaks school board

Five candidates have filed to run for the Blair Oaks Board of Education on the April 4 ballot.

Paul Mudd, Nicki Russell, Doug Moeller and Scott Farley join incumbent board member Peggy Luebbert in the race with three vacancies available - Luebbert's seat, as well as the seats of Matt Fifer and Tim Van Ronzelen, who both decided not to seek re-election.

Mudd relocated to the Blair Oaks district from Blue Springs in 2002. Four of his children have attended school at Blair Oaks, with his youngest child set to graduate from high school this spring.

"My only purpose for seeking this honorable position is based on my commitment and interest for all of our children in this community and to stay active and to continue to serve my community," Mudd said. "I only want to continue to preserve the great traditions and academic excellence already established by the board members that have preceded me."

Russell lives in Osage Bend with her husband and three children. She has been in the Blair Oaks district for nine years and is a parent adviser for the Blair Oaks schools' counseling team, as well as a parent meal coordinator for eighth-grade girls' away basketball games.

"There are two primary reasons why I want to serve on the school board," she said. "One is the students because the kids are our future, and I want to help influence their success while they are in school and for post-graduation success as members of society. The other reason is to make a positive impact in the community and for the district's taxpayer."

Moeller's daughter and son have graduated from Blair Oaks - his daughter this past May.

"I want to keep the board pretty well rounded, have people that don't have kids in the school on the board," he said. He added there "ought to be an equal balance" on the board, and he could be a spokesperson for folks who might have grandchildren in the Blair Oaks system or just pay taxes into it.

He thinks the district is run well and has no specific policy or facility issue he wants to work on. "There's really nothing I'm looking to change," he said.

Farley's family has been a part of the Blair Oaks district since 2004.

His daughter graduated from Blair Oaks, one son is a senior this year, and his youngest son is at the middle school.

Farley said he is the head wrestling coach for the kindergarten through eighth-grade program. He added he has considered running for the board for years and feels now is an appropriate time in his life.

He also thinks the board is run well, respects
Superintendent Jim Jones and wants to be part of the future of the district.

The lone incumbent, Peggy Luebbert, has been on the board for six years.

"Blair Oaks has been part of my life for 49 years," she said. "I went to school there, student-taught there, worked there for 30 years as a high school English teacher, my children went there, my grandchildren are going there - so mine is a personal reason for running because it is such a big part of my life."

Luebbert said she likes the direction the district is heading and sees exciting times ahead as they try to build a new high school.

"We were once provisionally accredited, and now we've been ranked 39 out of the 50 best district in Missouri, which is something to be proud of," she said. "I've lived here all my life and I feel the community knows me, and I think they feel comfortable talking with me about different issues."