Luther Bonds wins seat on Cape School Board

As the Cape Girardeau School Board works toward easing dropout rates and drafting a new facilities plan, it will have new member.

Newcomer Luther Bonds unseated four-year board member Charles Bertrand by a 19-vote margin in Tuesday's election.

Bonds said he wanted to "spread the net" and try to reach more at-risk students. As executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau, Bonds said he will bring a community connection to the board.

"I think I could hit the ground running on getting more community involvement," he said.

Bonds beat Bertrand 480 votes to 461. Bertrand said he would not contest the slim margin.

Board president Kyle McDonald was re-elected with 36.3 percent of the vote.

He said he wants to work to ease dropout rates by instituting an advisory program in which a teacher is assigned to mentor a group of students throughout their time in high school. McDonald also said he wants to work with the newly established chapter of the NAACP to start a minority scholarship.

McDonald said the board lost valuable insight with Bertrand, who is a retired superintendent, but he said Bonds will be a valuable asset.

"He brings a lot of enthusiasm in dealing with minority students," McDonald said of the new board member. "I just think that enthusiasm can benefit the board in reaching the students who are at risk."

Other school boards

Elsewhere many incumbents held onto their board positions.

Jackson School Board incumbents Brent Wills and Cathy Goodman took an early lead in the vote counts.

Wills won a fourth term on the school board with 639 votes, 41 percent of the total vote.

Goodman was re-elected to a third term with 604 votes, beating Pat Wissman and Robert Aubuchon.

Gary Miller and Keith Simpson will serve second terms on the Scott City School Board, according to Scott County's unofficial results. Simpson received the most votes with 350, 39.5 percent of the total vote. Miller followed with 285 votes. Gary Haynes and Karen Pobst received 136 and 110 votes, respectively.

Simpson said he wants to start the A+ program, which qualifies students for state money to attend community college after graduation. He also said he wants to expand the technology training available to the elementary school students.

The Kelly School Board will have two new members, Tony Powell and Mark Householder. Powell received the most votes with 129, 41.2 percent of the total vote. They defeated Bill Bailey, who received 66 votes. There were no incumbents up for re-election.

In Oran, school board incumbents Marty Priggel and Carla Graviett were re-elected. They defeated Eric Urhahn and Pam Tenkhoff. Priggel received the most votes with 118, 35.7 percent of the total vote.

Herbert Blattel Jr. won the most votes in the Delta School Board race with 208. Newcomer David Coomer unseated incumbent Aaron Helderman Jr. Coomer received 203 votes, 28 percent of the total vote.

In the Perryville School Board election, incumbents Kevin Bachmann and Jim Bauwens were re-elected. Bachmann received the most votes with 486.

In Leopold, incumbent Jean Clubb was re-elected with 67 votes. Edward Vandeven defeated Danny James for the second spot on the school board with 61 votes.

Doug Faulkner was re-elected to the Woodland School Board with 140 votes. Newcomer Megan Baker was elected with the most votes, 155, defeating Nancy Scott and Dale Long Sr.

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