By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Barton County voters will see four names on the ballot in the November General Election to join the Barton Community College Board of Trustees. There are three seats available to join the governing body for the college, and two of the options participated in the candidate forum last week hosted by the League of Women Voters – Barton County.
Dale Maneth was born in Hoisington and currently lives just west of Olmitz, where he has been farming for more than 30 years. A former Barton Community College student, Maneth said he wants to make sure there is plenty of transparency about the roughly $9 million that is given to the college from property taxes.
"The college is an entity that is responsible to every taxpayer in this county," said Maneth. "I believe everything we do needs to be presented in a way that everybody is not questioning where those funds are coming from or how the college is being operated."
Mike Johnson has been serving on the Board of Trustees for several years and has been living in Great Bend since 1975. Currently, the six trustees are at-large selections. Johnson noted he was not in favor of district-designed voting, stating all six trustees are accountable for everyone in the county.
"We all see every year other positions around the county...they have a hard time getting people to run for spots," said Johnson. "If you go to a district format and you have no one running for a spot in a certain district, then you're going to have a person appointed to that position. They will not be elected by the people of the county."
Cole Schwarz and Gary Burke are also running for a trustees spot but were absent from last week’s forum. You can watch the entire candidate forum on the Great Bend Post Facebook page.