Incumbent, newcomer elected to Jefferson City school board
Voters in Jefferson City picked an incumbent and a political newcomer Tuesday to represent them on the board of education.
Incumbent Lorelei Schwartz and newcomer Stephanie Johnson won by wide margins Tuesday, with Schwartz getting 3,300 votes and Johnson drawing 3,238. The third-place candidate, Steven Brown, had 2,247 votes.
Four candidates with different experiences in politics were in the running.
Schwartz has served on the board for three years and was the only candidate who had previously served on the board.
Schwartz said she wants to focus on improving the reading levels in the Jefferson City schools. She said this helps students succeed in different classes and eventually graduate.
“I have a saying, it is four yards up the middle every day,” Schwartz said. “And I believe that, that we just need to get up and move four yards up the middle with whatever issue we need to tackle today. But the reading and the behaviors are the ones we’re working on.”
Johnson works at the Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club. She said her experience working with children from the area will benefit her while she serves as a board memeber.
She said the first thing she wants to do as a board member is talk with teachers and other staff members in the schools to hear their thoughts and concerns.
“The first thing I want to do is visit the schools and just have a chance to talk with the principals and the teachers to find out what they think is going very well, what we can improve upon, but I think that’s where I’m going to start,” she said.
Among the new candidates were Brown, who is retired. He has lived in or around Jefferson City for many years. He said one issue that encouraged him to run was the discrimination lawsuits the district has faced in recent years.
Jessica Green was another candidate who said her experience going through the Jefferson City Public Schools system could benefit her in helping students succeed and graduate.
Dan Westhues ran Johnsons’s campaign and attended her watch party on Tuesday. He was excited to hear about both Johnson’s and Schwartz’s victory.
“It was really fun to see how many people were so interested to see what was going on with Jefferson City school board. And so when Stephanie won and Lorelei won, I felt excited. And everybody was here because we know that these people are doing the right thing for the school,” he said.
All four candidates have discussed several topics recently with ABC 17 News crews, including the discrimination lawsuits and the new high school.
You can hear what the candidates had to say about those topics and more here.
