By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

With the filing deadline past, Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus confirmed there will be seven applicants vying for four seats on the USD 489 school board in the Ellis County 2014 school/city election April 7.

Maskus said the latest name in the running is Dr. Paul Adams, who filed Monday.

The deadline to file was noon Tuesday.

Current USD 489 board president James Leiker and current board vice president Marty Patterson did not file for re-election, according to Maskus.

Adams — who earned his bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, his master’s degree in physics from Washington State University, and his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Purdue University — is a professor of physics at Fort Hays State University. His wife, Cheryl Shepherd-Adams, is a science teacher at Hays High School.

The other candidates are current 12-year USD 489 board veteran Gregory A. Schwartz, current board member Sarah Rankin, Leslie Blagrave, Miranda Fox, Jerald Braun and Luke Oborny.

Adams, Fox, and Oborny also ran for when Darren Schumacher’s seat was opened after he vacated due to a job relocation. Rankin eventually was appointed to the position.