Incumbents keep seats in Jackson School Board race

Three incumbents retained their seats on the Jackson School Board on Tuesday night and all said they feel fortunate to have done so, according to unofficial election returns on the Cape Girardeau county clerk's website.

Terri Tomlin, T. Wayne Lewis and Bruce Thomas won their races, beating out challengers Jamie Pfefferkorn Nipper, Larry L. Koenig, Kristi Uhrhan, Brad Noel and Will Adams.

Koenig and Uhrhan could not be reached for comment and Noel and Adams declined to comment.

Tomlin received 1,857 votes, or 16 percent; Thomas, 1,730, or 15 percent; Lewis, 1,836, or 16 percent; Nipper, 1,408, or 12 percent; Uhrhan, 1,654, or 14 percent; Noel, 1,139, or 10 percent; Adams, 1,071, or 9 percent; and Koenig, 967, or 8 percent, results showed.

"My reaction is ... I've really enjoyed being on the board for 12 years," said Tomlin, who currently serves as president. "I'm looking forward to continuing our efforts to make Jackson schools the best."

The race was marked by rumors -- in town and on social media -- and by disagreement over Common Core, a set of language arts and math benchmarks for students intended to create minimum standards nationwide.

Although 44 states have adopted the standards, they've become a hot-button issue. Opponents claim Common Core is a federal takeover of local education, dilutes teacher creativity and sets the bar too low.

Tomlin said this race was more involved than some of her previous elections, but she enjoyed it just the same. "I really appreciate all the supporters that I've had -- that all three of us have had, actually. They've really gone the extra mile," she said.

The last time there was opposition, Tomlin said, Facebook wasn't a factor. This time, it played a big part, with a Facebook page created by supporters of Tomlin, Thomas and Lewis.

Lewis said the board is there to serve the public and will continue to try and raise district standards.

"My focus would be that I hope that we can be there to offer a quality education for the children of Jackson," Lewis said. He added he wants to continue working with superintendent Ron Anderson, assistant superintendent Beth Emmendorfer and all the teachers.

Thomas, who is recovering from a broken leg, said he's really happy about the election results and thanked the people who voted for him. He added that it means a lot to him, especially being a retired teacher and football and wrestling coach.

"I've enjoyed being on the school board," he said. " ... The people have been so respectful and good to me in Jackson. They've been so good to me as a coach. I care a lot about the school and community. I think it's an honor they releected me."

Nipper said she thinks the numbers showed the community "definitely supports change."

" ... But when you have five challengers vs. three incumbents, there's just too many votes that are being split. But overall the numbers show that the community was looking for change," Nipper said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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