Schools throughout the US have faced an unprecedented year due to the pandemic. That has spotlighted the critical role that local school boards have in making decisions and shaping districts’ future. Next month, voters in Joplin will go to the polls to decide the fate of two, 3-year seats on the city’s school board.

Candidate Josh Bard hopes to fill one of those seats; he supports the way Joplin schools have navigated the Covid 19 pandemic. “I think they did well. We’re the largest high school in the area. And they implemented what they thought would be the most beneficial and still allowed students to be safe and I think they did a real good job with that.” Rylee Hartwell and John Hird are also candidates for a seat on the school board. Numerous county, city, and school board elections in Missouri take place on Tuesday, April 6.