The last person to file as a candidate in the April election for a position on the Blair Oaks R-2 Board of Education said he wants to contribute his experience with school finances as the district prepares to potentially build a new high school.
Tim Luebbering filed Tuesday to be a candidate for one of two two-year positions available on the school board.
The other four candidates running for the two positions are incumbent board members Mark Brandt and Jason Paulsmeyer - who were selected by the board to fill vacancies and were sworn in last July - and newcomers Dale Verslues and Calvin Wilbers.
Luebbering and Wilbers were among the six applicants, including Brandt and Paulsmeyer, who were interviewed by the board in June to fill the vacancies.
Luebbering said he was born and raised in Wardsville and he's a 1981 graduate of Blair Oaks.
After serving six years in the U.S. Navy's submarine force, he worked for the Missouri State Treasurer's Office for 19 years, he said. He is the human resources manager for the Osage County R-3 district (Fatima) in Westphalia and said he's been working in that position for five and a half years.
"No, it wouldn't be a conflict of interest," Luebbering said of if he were to be on the Blair Oaks school board and work for Fatima Schools at the same time.
"I want to see them both succeed," he said, adding he lives in Wardsville and thinks his experience at Fatima would "help with making decisions at Blair Oaks."
In addition to working for a public school district, Luebbering said, he also has served on St. Stanislaus Catholic Church parish council and school board.
He said his three children are graduates of Blair Oaks, and his daughter's graduation last May got him thinking about serving on the school board.
"Blair Oaks is a huge asset to the Wardsville community," Luebbering said in his interview with the board in June. "I think we need to stay on the course we're on."
"I think they do a good job out there," he said Wednesday, adding he wants to lend his experience as Blair Oaks seeks to build a new high school.
The board decided Tuesday that voters in April will be asked whether to approve a $14 million no-tax increase bond issue to pay for the first of two phases of construction to build a new high school, and a 30-cent operating tax levy increase effective in the 2019-20 school year to pay for running a new high school.
The new school would be anticipated to open for grades 9-12 in August 2021, with the second phase of construction complete for August 2025.
Blair Oaks' board also has two three-year positions available, which incumbent board members Greg Russell and John Weber filed for. Superintendent Jim Jones said at Tuesday's school board meeting there won't be an election for Russell and Weber because the race is uncontested.