Onetime coach seeks position on school board
Craig Lohman says the Tonganoxie school district is in need of change.
“The fact that there are 10 candidates running for school board ought to be a signal that something needs to be changed,” Lohman said.
Lohman is a candidate for Position No. 2. Ron Moore, who is not running for re-election, now holds the seat. Rex Hutton and Kathy Baragary have also filed for Position No. 2.
A Feb. 27 primary election will narrow the fields in Position No. 2 and the at-large seat, Position No. 7. Mildred McMillon, Francie Campbell and Dr. Bill Weatherford have filed to run for the at-large seat. The position is held by Dr. Richard Dean, who did not file for re-election.
Lohman, 47, has lived in Leavenworth County all his life. He is a 1977 graduate of Tonganoxie High School and is self-employed as a farmer and rancher.
He served as the district’s ninth-grade girls basketball coach for four years. And in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years, he served as the softball team’s co-coach.
He resigned both positions last spring. Last fall, Lohman applied for the softball coach’s position, but wasn’t hired.
Lohman and his wife, Carol, have two daughters, Dani, a senior at Kansas State University, and Ashlee, a junior at THS.
Lohman’s sister, Kay Smith, is the current Tonganoxie school board president. Her term on the board will expire in 2009. Lohman said serving with his sister would not be a conflict of interest.
“I feel that it won’t make an impact on my board service,” he said. “I pay my taxes, they pay theirs. If there is a conflict of interest, I don’t see it.”
His primary concern for the district, Lohman said, is the safety of all the students.
Part of this, he said, relates to the new middle school.
The city plans to build sidewalks on Pleasant Street, but Lohman said he thought sidewalks were needed on Washington Street, west of the new middle school, as well.
“I watched kids go through the mud and one of them fell down last week,” Lohman said. “It’s not too much to ask for those kids to have a good clean hard surface to go on to and from school.”
And Lohman said, he would like to make sure that all teachers are accredited and that all district employees are accountable and responsible for their actions.
Lohman also wants to take a look at how the district purchases large-ticket items.
“I would like to see a purchasing center that takes at least three bids for new purchases,” Lohman said.