This article was updated Jan. 19 to reflect changes in the ballot order. 

Verbal Blakey, who was the second candidate to file for the Mehlville school board election in April, has removed her name from consideration according to an email sent from the superintendent's office. Four candidates will now run for two positions on the board. 

Patch left a voicemail with Blakey, who has yet to return the call. 

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Five candidates have filed to run for the Mehlville School District Board of Education election April 3. The two candidates with the most votes will serve a three-year term on the board.

Board directors Tom Diehl and Ron Fedorchak currently sit in the open seats; Fedorchak has filed to run, while Diehl has not. 

Applicants could file between Dec. 13 and Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. and are listed below in the order they filed.

Ron Fedorchak was appointed to the board out of nine candidates after board member Michael Ocello moved out of the district. He has been serving on the board since July and lives in Oakville on the 3700 block of Woodbrook Court.

Fedorchak has three daughters in the district, two who attend Oakville High School, and one at Blades Elementary School.

“I think the position’s pretty important and there’s a lot of work to be done,” Fedorchak told Patch in December. “I’ve talked to most of the other directors and they’ve supported me continuing on.”

Verbal Blakey, of the 6000 block of Cardinal Creek Drive in Oakville, has at least one child attending school in the district. She is the fundraising coordinator for the Oakville Middle School PTO and works as an engineer. 

Mike Wainz, of the 3500 block of Hidden Stone Court in Oakville, is a stay-at-home dad with three children. Two attend school through the Special School District’s (SSD) autism program. He and his wife, Laura, also have a fifth-grader at Blades Elementary School.

"The idea of running had always been tossed around,” Wainz said. “I wanted to be more behind the decision-making process, to do it from an SSD-type of background and make sure it gets taken care of and well-represented within the school district.”

Kathleen Eardley, of the 3500 block of Cabernet Way Court in Oakville, is a stay-at-home mom who has three children under the age of 3 with her husband Garrett.

Her oldest, Toby, will begin school at the John Cary Early Childhood Center in February.

“I wanted to run to be a part of my children’s future in the Mehlville School District,” she said.

Fred Padberg, of the 4700 block of Mehl Avenue in Oakville, is an illustrator and designer and owns Padberg Graphic Design Studio. 

Padberg applied for the open school board position in June and hinted he would be running in April if he wasn't appointed to the position. 

“I complain a lot about property taxes and figured if you aren’t willing to do something about it and get active, you don’t have room to complain,” he told Patch in June. “I’m not sure how much influence the school board has on these things, but what’s taught in the school, the discipline and authority of the individual teachers, it’s the little things that are important.”

Padberg has four children and seven grandchildren, but none have attended Mehlville schools. 

Look for profiles on each candidate in March.