By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

On Tuesday, area residents can start filing to run for local school-board seats that will be decided in the April election. The filing deadline is Jan. 20. Candidates will be listed on the ballot in the order they file.

Joplin

There are two positions open on the Joplin R-8 Board of Education.

Incumbents Anne Sharp, board president, and Jim Kimbrough, said they plan to run for re-election.

Sharp was first elected to the position in 2000 and is finishing her second year as board president. She substitute teaches in other area middle schools and worked for her family-owned company for many years.

Kimbrough was first elected to the board in 2006. He worked in the district as a science teacher and coach for 20 years, then as an assistant principal at Joplin High School. He now works as director of the Educational Talent Search at Missouri Southern State University, a federal program that helps middle- and high-school students go to college.

Applicants must file a declaration of candidacy at the superintendent’s office at 1717 E. 15th St. Filing begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Webb City

The Webb City R-7 Board of Education has two openings for the upcoming election.

Cheryl Chaney, R-7 board secretary, said the seats are the one left vacated when longtime board member Terry James resigned earlier this year because of health problems, and Lucinda Copeland’s seat.

Filing begins at 8 a.m. and must be made at the district’s administrative building at 411 N. Madison Ave.

Carl Junction

Carl Junction R-1 has two board of education positions up for re-election.