Retired teacher files as write-in candidate for Pasco School Board

A retired Pasco teacher who declared her candidacy for a Pasco School Board position during the teachers strike has officially filed as a write-in candidate against board member Scott Lehrman.

Staff at the Franklin County Auditor’s Office confirmed that Kathleen Barton has officially registered for the Nov. 3 election.

Her name will not appear on the ballot, but voters who write her name in will have them counted toward her tally.

Barton initially announced her campaign during a September meeting of parents and teachers in Pasco’s Memorial Park during the strike, which delayed the start of school until Sept. 15.

She criticized the board’s refusal to speak publicly during the strike, which was the result of contentious contract talks between the district and the Pasco Association of Educators.

“I feel people don’t deserve a designated spokesperson. They deserve to hear from their elected representatives,” she said at the time.

Barton started working in Pasco schools in 1973, according to her campaign materials.

She has been a reading specialist, as well as a special education teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels. She retired in 2014.

Barton has not held elected public office but she was president of Pasco’s teachers union in the late ’70s, when schools closed during a previous teachers strike.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Retired teacher files as write-in candidate for Pasco School Board."