Meet Your Candidates Running for the School Board 2026
Written on 04/01/2026
ryan
Mary Russell
Mary Russell is a lifelong Lebanon Yellowjacket, graduating from LHS in 2002. She graduated from Mizzou with a master’s degree in physical therapy and works locally for Integrity Home Care. She is married to Jason- also a lifelong Yellowjacket, who owns a small business in Lebanon. They have been married for 18 years and they have two boys, Drew- a 9th grader at LHS & Spencer- a 7th grader at LMS.
In her spare time, Mary loves to watch her boys play basketball, garden and bake and cheer on the Mizzou Tigers. Mary has served on the LR3 School Board since 2020, where she has been a strong voice advocating for transparency and fiscal responsibility while making students a top priority by supporting teachers and staff. She also serves on the Live 2 Give Hope board and as the bedding coordinator for Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Mary and her family are active at LifePoint Church here in Lebanon.
Charlie Darnell
Jina Richardson
I am the daughter of Lonnie and Jean Cook, a lifelong resident of Lebanon, and a member of LHS Class of ‘89. All of my family members, including my parents, husband, 3 children, in-laws, aunts, uncles, and cousins attended Lebanon schools. I am married to Doug Richardson, who ran his family’s carpet store business for over 30 years before retiring. We continue to own and manage rental properties in Lebanon and have a cattle farm in the county. I am a longtime member of my “little country church”, Fairview Methodist Church and have served as pianist there since the age of 14.
After graduation I attended Southwest Missouri State (MSU) and received my BSEd in Mathematics Education. I later received my Masters degree in Education from SBU. I am proud to say I taught math at Lebanon High School for 27 years, and served 3 additional years as the LHS Instructional Coach. I was a teacher leader for most of my educational career and participated on many committees, including Career Ladder, Math Vertical Team, and LHS Leadership. I served as math department chair for 16 years, working with the budget, hiring staff, and led curriculum work in the district, including working across all grade levels, and participated in writing assessments at the state level. I was also a Student Council advisor for 25 years - building students’ leadership skills is something I am very proud of. Serving as an educator in Lebanon was, and continues to be, my life’s passion, and that is why I am seeking a seat on the school board.
Family Background
* Lifelong Resident of Lebanon
* Parents Lonnie and Jean Cook
* Married to Doug Richardson who ran his family’s carpet store business until retiring 5 years ago. We continue to own and manage rental properties in Lebanon and have a cattle farm in the county.
* We raised our 3 children in Lebanon R3
* Lifelong member Fairview Methodist Church - have served as pianist since 7th grade.
Work Background - 30 years at Lebanon High School
* Math Teacher at LHS for 27 years, LHS Instructional Coach for 3 years; education is my life’s passion
* Served as Math Department Chair for 16 years and as a teacher leader for most of my career
* Participated on several committees throughout my time in the district, including Career Ladder and LHS Leadership Team
* Led curriculum work in the district, including working across all grade levels, and participated in assessment construction at the state level
* Served as LHS Student Council Advisor for 25 years - building students’ leadership skills is important to me
Craig Blair
I am a husband and father of two; my son is 25 and my daughter is 20. I serve as Director of Capital Academy, where I am also a recruiter and instructor. I have developed three registered apprenticeship programs—two approved by the Department of Labor and one currently in approval.
I previously spent 16 years in public education. Under my leadership, Capital Academy received the Workforce Champion Award from AGCMO for its impact on workforce development and industry partnership.
Tonight, Lebanon Now begins releasing our Lebanon R-3 School Board candidate conversations.
The four candidates in this year’s race are Jina Richardson, Charlie Darnell, Mary Russell, and Craig Blair.
To ensure fairness and consistency, every candidate was asked the exact same seven questions:
1.Why are you seeking a term on the school board?
2.What are the biggest issues facing the Lebanon public school system, and how do you plan to address those issues as a board member?
3.How do you balance the needs of students, staff, the public, and salary concerns when making decisions?
4.What are your thoughts on open enrollment, and do you see it as a threat or concern for the Lebanon R-3 School District?
5.Is state funding for private school scholarships an economic threat to the Lebanon R-3 system, and should the local board be addressing that?
6.What do you believe are the toughest financial questions the board will have to answer over the next three years?
7.Is there anything else you’d like voters to know about your race and what you plan to do as a board member?
Each candidate was given as much time as they wanted to fully answer each question.
In the interest of fairness, we did not challenge, follow up on, or expand on any candidate’s answers, ensuring there could be no appearance that one candidate was questioned more heavily than another.
Outside of necessary camera angle changes, these conversations were not edited in any way that would add to, remove from, or alter the candidates’ responses. We wanted each person to have the opportunity to speak directly to voters in their own words.
We encourage everyone to watch each conversation before making their decision at the ballot box.
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