Three more candidates have filed for a seat on the USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden school board.
According to the Riley County Clerk’s office, Jennifer Chua, Kevin Harms and Carl Treece filed Monday. Their names are part of a growing list of candidates, which is now up to seven individuals for three open board seats.
Chua is a current member of the City of Manhattan Social Services Advisory Board and volunteers with Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice as well as Sunflower CASA and has been in the area since 2011. In a statement Monday, Chua said running for the school board provides her the opportunity to help children and set up teachers, staff and administration for success.
“Our community is very important to me. Manhattan and USD383 have many great qualities, but as with everything, there is always room for improvement. We need to ensure the needs of our children are met. Within the last year, our focus has been taken away from our children and put more on politics. Our school board members faced decisions they never expected to make, which unintentionally fueled polarization within our community,” she said.
Harms is a Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3) in the U.S. Army and an Apache helicopter pilot. He moved back to Manhattan in 2018 after living in the area from 2011 to 2014. His wife Tiffany teaches special education in the district and has a 10-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter who both attend school in the district.
“My 20 year retirement from the Army will be in October 2022, so I’m looking for ways to finally embed myself in the community,” he said.
Treece is a retired teacher who received his Master’s Degree from Purdue University. KMAN has reached out to Treece for more details on his decision to run.
Other candidates include Christine Weixelman, who filed on Friday; Jayme Morris-Hardeman, who filed in April; Steven Ruzzin and current board member Karla Hagemeister, both whom filed earlier this month.
Two other incumbents, Jurdene Coleman and Katrina Lewison have not indicated whether they plan to seek re-election.
The filing deadline is June 1.
