Seven candidates eye SJSD Board of Education seats as filing deadline passes

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Seven candidates are throwing their hats into the ring to seek one of two seats on the St. Joseph School District Board of Education.

Tuesday evening marked the deadline to file for two Board of Education seats on the ballot in next April's election.

The seats are currently held by Whitney Lanning and Tom Richmond, whose terms will both expire in April of 2026. Richmond is a recent addition to the board, having joined in May following the resignation of board member Rick Gehring.

Voters will decide which candidates will be appointed on April 7.

Registered board filings include:

• Cynthia Cook

• Deborah Schmuck

• Jacob McMillian

• Cassandra Veale

• Travis Smith

• Kimberly Dragoo

• Reid Barnett

Geoffrey Sollars was previously reported as having registered, but has since withdrawn. Among the candidates, three of them have been listed on ballots in local elections within the last five years.

Earlier this year, Dragoo and her husband were pardoned by President Donald Trump for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. Dragoo plead guilty in August 2023 to a misdemeanor charge of picketing, parading and demonstrating in the U.S. Capitol. The couple was sentenced to 14 days in jail last year.

McMillian and Dragoo ran as candidates in the April 2024 ballot while Veale ran in the 2025 election. McMillian and Veale were also in the running to replace Gehring's open seat.

Interested candidates saw the last opportunity to file today between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. as long as they meet a number of requirements, including:

• Must have registered citizenship in the United States of America
• Must be registered to vote in the St. Joseph School district
• Required to reside in Missouri for a minimum of one year immediately preceding their election or appointment
• Must be a minimum of 24 years of age
• Cannot have outstanding state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes or real property taxes on their place of residence. If an applicant is a past or present corporate officer of any fee office, that office cannot be delinquent in the payment of any taxes owed to the state
• Never been found guilty of, nor pled guilty to, a felony under the federal laws of the United States of America or to a felony under Missouri law or an offense committed in another state that would be considered a felony in Missouri
• Never been convicted of or entered a guilty plea for the offense of assault in the first or second degree, or the offense of harassment in the first or second degree, where such assault or harassment occurred on school district grounds
• Not registered or required to be registered as a sex offender
• Have filed, or the treasurer of an existing candidate
• Have filed, or the treasurer of an existing committee has filed, all required campaign disclosure reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission, when applicable, for all previous elections in which they were candidates.