Shawnee Mission North area representative Sara Goodburn on Monday announced she is running for a third terms on the school board, setting up a contested election for the seat.
In a message posted on Facebook, Goodburn said she had received encouragement from “many North-area parents, patrons and community leaders” to run for re-election.
“I have lived within the SMSD boundaries for more than 50 years; 30 of those years spent in the North area,” she said. “What happens in this school district matters to me, not just as a board member but as a mom of two North alumni, wife, SMSD graduate, friend and neighbor.”
Brian Koon, an education advocate who was briefly a candidate for an at-large seat on the board in the 2017 election, filed for the SM North seat in February. Koon exited the at-large race and threw his support behind eventual winner Heather Ousley after she entered the contest.
Goodburn was first elected to the board in 2011 following the departure of longtime SM North representative Susan Metsker, who resigned from the board to take a job working for Rep. Kevin Yoder. She earned a second term in 2015, fending off a challenge from area parent Mark Ellis.
Goodburn spent two years at school board president, from 2015 to 2017
In her announcement, Goodburn said it has been “an honor to serve our community these past eight years and I look forward to the opportunity to continue that service.”
“As always, I will continue to work tirelessly, in collaboration with the superintendent, the other members of the board, staff, students and the patrons of this district to ensure the SMSD continues to provide a world-class education, support systems for all our students and families and remains a source of pride in Johnson County, the state and the country,” she wrote.
