Mexico Public Schools voters will go to the polls on April 8 to decide two seats on the Mexico Public Schools board. Director Scott Nichols is an incumbent seeking reelection. Board terms are for three years.

People wishing to vote absentee, in-person and no-excuse voting can do so March 25 through 5 p.m. April 7.

Joshua Price

Hometown: Massillon, Ohio. Moved to Mexico in 1992 and graduated from Mexico High School in 2007

Educational background: Missouri Welding Institute graduate

Occupation: Door dasher and delivery services. Previously worked in auto body 

Community groups: Member of First Presbyterian Church and Mexico Park Board

Family: Daughter, Brooklynn, 11, attends Hawthorne Elementary. Two nieces in Mexico and niece and nephew in Kansas City.

Joshua Price cares about communication and transparency, and he said the board needs transparency from the district, so he supports the district always posting videos of its meetings, which are available online. 

“I think that information needs to be made available to the public so that the citizens and parents can see that information in its entirety and come to their own conclusion on discussion topics and mentioned items and how things happen at school board versus meeting minutes,” he said. 

As far as improvements district-wide, he said he would like to see more parent involvement with schools and the school board, with the trustees being open and communicative to the parents.

He supports the necessity of parent-teacher conferences, and would like to see a parent-teacher conference that would be directed to getting students prepared for MAP testing.

“Teachers spend so much time with our kids, they know the exact points that they really need to work on, and I think a parent-teacher conference directed toward MAP testing would really help the kids, the teachers, the parents and everybody, and I think it would go a long way in helping our scores, too,” he said.  

On the elementary campuses, he would like to see a “slight adjustment” brought to awareness for the major/minor disciplinary standard that is used so parents understand the depth of the behavioral issues. 

Later, in an email, he said he wants to see a continuance of building a better relationship between the school district and the city, noting that it is not bad, but he said “it just seems like there’s some tension or frustration there at times” and he’d like to see the school district working with the city together on the tennis courts.

During the interview with the Ledger, he said the district has been able to hire good teachers, and he appreciates the impact of his teachers in his life, even now.

“That’s a big reason why teacher retention is so important so that our kids can have those people still impacting their lives later on in life,” he said.

He praised Hawthorne, explaining he has enjoyed his daughter attending the school. 

Erik Richardson

Hometown: Grew up in Independence

Educational background: Master of Business Administration from Marquette University, master’s in philosophy from the University of Missouri and graduate teaching certification from Mount Mary in Milwaukee and bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Truman State. 

Occupation: Business owner: Richardson Ideaworks.

Community groups:  President of Main Street Mexico

Family: Tess, wife. Emery, daughter.

Erik Richardson calls himself passionate politically with strong views and is politically active, but he thinks people can have strong views while being impartial and professional when a role calls for it.

Such as being on the school board, he said.

During his time as a classroom teacher, he said he kept his politics at bay, as the purpose of learning is not to prompt everyone to hold the same ideas and values. He has run for office before, including state representative and Mexico City Council, and he applied for a vacated seat on the board in which the board appointed the replacement. He’s running for school board because of his passion and commitment for education and to make sure there are sufficient resources and support for teachers and administration.

“And the other part grows out of my work,” he said. “I’ve done writing research and training on rural economic development and community development. The school is an anchor for that. Our public education system is one of the places that still helps hold a community together and give us a shared story. I want to do everything I can to help hold on that, to carry that forward to be a strength for the community and be something that brings us together.”

He said people asked him if he would run again after he ran for state legislator last year. Richardson, a Democrat, lost to Republican Kent Haden.

On the board, he wants to ensure the board can be a bridge and a buffer so the teachers and administrators can have the best support and environment possible. He discussed the skills sets he can bring to the board, from finance to teaching in the classroom.

“My goal is to get us on a solid footing where the community and the school are building each other and creating progress,” he said.

Richardson sees a lot of potential in the school district, and he prefers to focus on the accomplishments that can be carried forward rather than issues that need to be fixed.

Jon Calhoun

Hometown: Mexico

Educational background: Attended Universal Technical Institute near Chicago for diesel and industrial technology. Attended Columbia College and then the University of Missouri, where he received his mechanical engineering degree. Graduated from Mexico High School in 2005.

Occupation: Gas meter engineer for Ameren

Community groups: Volunteering for coaching for his children’s sports - soccer, football, basketball, tee-ball and baseball. 

Family: Lindsey, wife. Three kids: son Jesse, who will turn 8 in April; daughter Andrea, who turns 6 in April; daughter Kennadee, who is almost 2. 

Jon Calhoun said he decided to run for board because he had talked to people around the community and there was concern about performance in the district, especially compared to other area districts. He said he would like to figure out a way to help the district move forward without having all the “noise and chaos,” and he wants to keep politics out of the school board.

“Generally, anyone who has been to Mexico the last several decades knows we kind of have a dwindling business sector, is the best way to put it,” he said. 

Over the last few years, he said, there’s been a lot of turmoil on the board and schools and it has affected the community and students.

He said he wants the district to “get back to the basics” and help students become “functioning adults.” He also wants the district to communicate better with parents. 

The district does a good job of providing information about careers and jobs to children at earlier ages, he said. 

“I think with the current economy and how expensive college and tech schools are now, it’s good to get more information to the kids sooner so we can start figuring out what kids are going to do after high school,” Calhoun said.

He also lauds the district for the people it has hired and that there are “a lot of dedicated teachers in our school system,” but he said the district has lost some homegrown teachers in Mexico and he wants better retention efforts for people who have ties in the community. The district has to find ways to entice people to come here and stay, he said.

Calhoun wants to work with administrators and the school board on how the schools can best communicate to teachers and the community. He also said board members themselves need to be visible in the community. 

Scott Nichols

Hometown:  Mexico

Educational background: Graduated from Mexico High in 2006. 

Occupation:  Supervisor at True Manufacturing 

Community groups: Lunch Buddy Program in Mexico Public Schools, volunteer firefighter for 24 years for Little Dixie Fire Protection DIstrict and works part time in the Audrain Ambulance District. Coaches several sports through YMCA. 

Family: Sheila, wife. Three children: Brooke, a junior; Gage, a sophomore; and Caleb, fourth grader.

Scott Nichols is currently on his second term on the Mexico school board. He said he decided to run again because he likes giving back to the community and helping the community’s future. He said he hopes his experience on the board can help in his next term.

“I’ve worked with some different board members through the years, and every single one has a different perspective and a different outlook on things,” he said. “I feel like that’s helped me grow as far as being able to try to see things in different ways and be open minded and come to an agreement at the end of the discussion.”

He said since he’s been on board, he’s been proud of some positions that have been added, such as in the social emotional wellness group.

“With the world nowadays, there’s all kinds of different struggles in life,” he said. “So this group is there to support those (students) and help the kids overcome difficulties and setbacks.”

He said he’s proud of the turf projects on sports fields in the district, which can have an unifying effect and can be used by various groups, both schools and community. 

Nichols said he is concerned about attendance in schools, explaining that there’s been a bigger push for better attendance. Engagement is where better attendance starts.

“If a kid is not engaged in the district, they’re not going to show up,” he said. “And if they show up, they’re not going to be at the full capacity that they could be. A lot of times I feel like it just takes that one group that you feel involved with or included that can have a completely different outcome on your life, when it’s all said and done.”  

On areas of strength district wide, he said there’s been an improvement in academics, and that’s an area he would like to focus more on.

“The district is actually looking at some curriculum to help improve that, to try to find out what’s going to be the best fit and have the most success for our district,” he said, adding that there’s been research and effort here to examine other districts’ curriculum to see what’s effective.

Julia Lindsay

Hometown: Grew up in Sikeston but moved to Mexico as a teen. Resided here 26 years.

Educational background: Earned her GED and then attended Moberly Area Community College she got her LPN degree and has some additional schooling with that school.

Occupation: Nurse. But she is now a stay-at-home mother. 

Community groups: Substitute in schools for two years. Attends Benton City Christian Church.

Family: Shanon Lindsay, husband. Children: May Luckett, 20; Jerry, 15; and Joel, 13.

Julia Lindsay said she is running for board because wants schools to “get back to the basics” and desires to see more transparency from the district, wanting to be “an honest and transparent voice for the community, for our students, for our staff.” 

She said she is a “mother and caregiver, not a politician.”

“And my heart lies with the students and the staff and the whole community, and I think we can boost our morale and boost our (test) numbers,” she said.

Lindsay said the district needs to be “fair, firm and consistent with consistent accountability.” And she said there needs to be more transparency and honesty so that education can be improved. 

“I think we have great ability to do great things - we have so much at our fingertips,” she said. “And we do have the ability to make improvements and be a school (district) that is leading and not following.”

She said had concerns with attendance policies and how class assignments are handled, as far as students getting feedback and grades.

As far as the district’s strengths, she praises the district’s career center and district teachers.

“There is a lot of good potential within our schools, for sure,” she said.

She said she wants to work on policy that ensures everybody is succeeding, adding there’s no quick fix for that. She thinks people should have an easier path to talk to the board and not have to fill out a form several days in advance to speak at the meetings.

If elected, she said she will looks at issues from every angle she can and be as transparent as she can.

“And I will set forth policies that are conducive to a great educational environment with great outcomes, improving our numbers and our academics,” she said.