School board incumbents retain seats, newcomer comes close

By Chase Jordan

The Lee's Summit R-7 Board of Education results were close with a new challenger in the race. Incumbents Jon Plaas, Jack Wiley and Jeff Tindle will keep their seats on the board. A total of 23,353 votes were cast in the school board race, which includes a portion of Cass County and Kansas City.Sherri Tucker was the fourth candidate for the three open seats, and was defeated by a close margin, receiving 20 percent of the vote with 4,679."I think we have a pretty good showing," Tucker said. "The amount of votes I'm getting shows that there are some improvements to be made."Plaas received 22 percent of the vote with a total of 5,065. "I look forward to serving for another three years and I'm going to give it the best and keep working on the issues," Plaas said. "Sherri ran a good race and it shows with the results."Jeff Tindle was pleased the continuance of the no-tax-increase Proposition C waiver and the no-tax-increase bond issue were approved by voters. He received about 29 percent of the vote with 6,925. "I think that shows confidence in our district," Tindle said. "I'm looking forward to serving the citizens of Lee's Summit for another three years." Jack Wiley received about 28 percent of the total vote with 6,557. He said it was a good campaign."I'm glad it's over and I'm really looking forward to getting back to doing the work of the district," Wiley said.Plaas said he was pleased with the success of the Proposition C waiver and the bond issue. "That was the important thing," Plaas said. "They both passed very well, so we're pleased that everything turned out fine."