JACKSON LAWYER FILES FOR ELECTION TO SCHOOL BOARD

JACKSON -- Thomas Ludwig, a Jackson lawyer for 18 years, filed as a candidate for the Jackson R-2 Board of Education Friday.

He graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1972, received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1974 and got his law degree from Washington University in 1977.

Ludwig serves as Jackson's city prosecutor and Fredericktown's city attorney. He also is a member of the Jackson Planning and Zoning Board.

The candidate and his wife, Christina, have two children, Matt, 18, and Sarah, 16.

"It's the right time to run," Ludwig said. "The kids are old enough so that I have the time and young enough that they are still involved in the district."

He hasn't run for any public office before and said his reason for running now is the school district's growth. His primary concern is the fiscal consequence of that growth.

"I want to leave the nuts and bolts of educating children to the educators, but there are other things I feel I can help with," Ludwig said.

He joins challenger Ron Lowes and incumbents Dr. T. Wayne Lewis, Vicky McDowell and Darrell Hanschen in the race for three two-year terms on the school board.

The deadline to file is Jan. 30 at the Board of Education office.