The Maplewood Richmond Heights School District will host a Meet the School Board Candidates Forum on March 26 at the high school theater. The district has posted the following about the forum and the election on its website:
On March 26, 2026, the MRH High School Principals Advisory Leadership (PAL) Board will present a Meet the School Board Candidates Forum. Five candidates seeking three seats on the Board will appear on the April 7 election ballot.
Use this form provided by the district to submit questions ahead of time. The PAL Board asks that you submit general inquiries which will be posed to all five candidates, rather than specific questions for any individual candidate.
This free and open forum will take place at 6:00 p.m. at the Maplewood Richmond Heights High School Theatre at 7500 Lohmeyer Avenue in Maplewood, MO 63143.
In the order of filing, the candidates are:
- Rachel Lindsey of Richmond Heights — Campaign Facebook page, Campaign website
- Christy Martinez of Richmond Heights — Campaign Facebook page
- Loretta Colvin of Richmond Heights — Campaign Facebook page
- Brittany Shadduck of Maplewood — Campaign Facebook page, Campaign website
- Loren Widmer-Tiefenbrun of Maplewood — Campaign Facebook page
Colvin is a current Board member serving the balance of an unexpired term. Incumbent Board members Joshua Miller and Katie Kaufmann are not seeking reelection.
Polls open at 6:00 a.m. on April 7 and close at 7:00 p.m.
In response to a question regarding the Maplewood Richmond Heights NEA (National Educator Association) endorsement of three of the candidates, this is the web page of the Missouri NEA’s endorsements, including the MRH “candidate recommendations”.
More drama here than in all the Real Housewives shows. It’s a freaking school board election-not the US presidency or congress-sheesh-get over yourselves already.
Matt, So nice to see that some things never change-keep popping off and helping the other candidates. Maybe clean your own house before coming after others.
As a concerned resident of Maplewood, I want to understand how these candidates plan to prevent our already extremely high property taxes from rising even further. Maplewood often presents itself to St. Louis as a community that prioritizes affordable housing, but that feels more like optics than reality. With property taxes already burdensome and now a proposed increase to fund improvements to city hall that does not need those improvements, many low-income residents, the very people the city claims to support, are being priced out and can no longer afford to live here.
The idealistic concept of low-income and Maplewood wanting to be the next Clayton is a Oxymoron. Maplewood is a (Cement Mixer) with wet concrete in it. The community needs to pour and finish, or the mixer machine will have unusable product. Does that make any sense?
Matt-very interesting comment coming from you as there was also some union “issues” on votes when you were on the city council-I am sure someone out there has those specifics and really should share them publicly-this isn’t a “friendly” reminder-it’s just more Maplewood nastiness and smearing under the guise of activism and community engagement.
Also-you personally funded that asinine Prop J disaster with your own money-it was defeated 75% to 25%. Your insight doesn’t count for as much as you think.
Maybe people need to ask candidate Martinez why she quit in the middle of her term-but they better be ready to accept the answer and respect her “lived experience” on that. Or does that only count when it’s convenient for your crew?
Yes, could you please publish information on where the candidates stand on important issues for the district? So far, reading about their experience is all that’s available, as far as I can find, mostly on social media. This isn’t really enough to make informed decisions, as the descriptions don’t tell us specifically what the candidates’ platforms are. Thank you for your coverage of our district!
Hi, Margaret! Here is my platform 🙂 Also very happy to hear what your priorities are as a stakeholder in district strength and longevity.
https://www.lindseyformrh.com/vision
Doug, it’s been great getting a chance to talk with you over the past few weeks and I appreciate your commitment to citizen journalism. I respect the MRH NEA PAC’s decision to endorse the incumbent and two active MNEA members. (The official decision as communicated to candidates not selected was to back “a candidate with more board experience,” presumably meaning local school board experience.) But I think it’s also important to inform your readers that I am also a pro-union educator at the collegiate level and the fifth candidate is a former MNEA teacher.
Perhaps in addition to this post, as another neighbor has suggested, you could provide more substantive information on each of the candidates ahead of the March 26 forum. I for one would be happy to sit for an interview or respond in writing to questions you and your readers have.
In the meantime, here is a link to my campaign website:
https://www.lindseyformrh.com/vision
Doug, Please run these candidates information and statements as they are available before the election! As you know, they usually are sent out by the school district but further circulation might be a goid idea!! Thanks as always!! PL
Pickett, this article now includes links to all candidates’ Facebook pages and websites if they have one.
I guess we’re all to believe that the teachers worked hard to unionize and create their collective bargaining agreement only to promptly and severely undermine it through this endorsement for apparently arbitrary or mysterious reasons.
Or… the union knows what they’re doing, and they looked at all of the information and made the decision that they felt was in their own best interest.
Personally, I believe most people in this community have trust and faith in our teachers and their judgement.
John, I am a life member of the NEA now retired. It is WAY more than a Union. There a whole range of supports for teachers and public school districts. They have representatives in every state at the state houses looking out for our schools, students and parents rights and supports as well! .…including funding and policy. In Missouri, NEA is MOST diligent that we are aware of the actions of our legislators here but also the implication of trends and policy in education coming out across the country and in DC. They have a long history of excellent work. This is why I invested in a lifetime membership! I’m a VERY long resident of Maplewood, once on our school board, and a 43 year educator. Nothing nefarious here!! Thx for caring!!
(BTW, NEA supports good leadership, our local people decide who and how.)
Could you or someone please explain what endorsement you’re referring to? Is there an earlier article about this? Thanks.
welcome to the Maplewood OUTRAGE Crew-buckle up because they’re only getting started. They clearly didn’t learn from the last election that their voices have been diminished due to allllll their sketchy and shady behavior.
Just a friendly reminder that Candidate Christy Martinez voted NO on the Union’s CBA. Then quit the week after the vote.
The fact that the Union is supporting her is a joke. No Union would ever support any candidate voting NO on any Union CBA.
The fact that two other Candidates have aligned themselves with her is also a big red flag.
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=442&MID=16352&T=1
See action item 2 for the vote.
Do your homework on these candidates.
Why would we re-elect someone who quit in the middle of their term??
Perhaps candidate Martinez has some important insights as to why she stepped down the first time and why she would run again. For example, maybe she was being harassed at home with a profane voice message from a top-level district employee? Or maybe harassed at work when that person tried to get her fired for “racism”? Or, what if that same school district employee tried to get her spouse fired too? That might intimidate a person into stepping down until mulling it over for a few months and realizing that kind of behavior is unacceptable.
I heard that voice message and it was alarming. Such disrespect for individuals who VOLUNTEER to serve their community. The old saying applies that the “fish rots from the head down.”
Maybe, just maybe the Union is aware of details that you aren’t. Maybe she’s squared her accounts with the teachers and the Union. The proof is in the pudding. Do your homework on who is supporting the candiates. Given your history of pushing biased narratives and poor judgement, most of us in Maplewood find your alignment with any candidate a big red flag.