Columbia is the only home John Lyman has ever known.
Although he was born in Washington state, Lyman has spent most of his life in Columbia — it's part of who he is. From being a Boy Scout to his college days as Truman the Tiger at MU, Lyman’s love for his hometown has grown stronger and stronger the more he’s come to know it.
“A lot of kids in high school wanted to leave for one reason or another,” Lyman said. “Everybody either went to Montana to ski or Florida because they wanted to be on the beach. But me and a half a dozen other guys and gals stayed here ... I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Lyman now aims to direct his love for the community at an institution that helped develop it: Columbia Public Schools. His decision to run for the Columbia School Board is one Lyman has mulled over for many years but finally made this past winter after talking it through with his wife Molly, an 18-year district teacher.
As both a husband of a longtime district educator and father of three children, Lyman is already invested in how the district operates, both for its teachers and its students. Focused on issues like making schools more equitable and better supporting teachers like his wife, he wants to get out in the community and hear from other district stakeholders on how to accomplish these goals.
“We all want what’s best for the district,” Lyman said. “We just have different ideas on how to get there.”
A practical mindset
Lyman thinks of himself as a strong problem-solver: His jobs — now as loan officer at Veterans United and in his younger years at Westlake Ace Hardware — have helped develop his penchant for finding answers. For him, the key is approaching every problem with an open mind.
“It’s (about) listening. It’s not walking in with a preconceived notion of the last time someone came in with this problem and (thinking), ‘This is the solution,'" he said. "Every job I’ve had over the last 20 years has been listening and solving the problem.”
State Rep. Adrian Plank, D-Columbia, thinks Lyman's biggest asset is his willingness to listen.
"If you’re not listening, it means you think you know more than whoever you’re talking to,” Plank said. “The key to John’s successes is that he’s willing to listen, take action based on what he’s learned and make common sense decisions from what he’s heard.”
They met through Plank's wife, who works with Lyman at Veterans United.
“I find John to be a passionate person,” Plank said. “He’s liked by most everybody if they know him.”
Lyman’s deep interest in the community earned the endorsement of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association, the teachers' union. CMNEA noted that his long history of serving Columbia through Veterans United has earned him the respect of families and educators.
Families and educators are a crucial part of Lyman’s campaign, and he intentionally reflects them in his campaign motto “Forward. Together.” He thinks moving the district forward means offering students the most modern, in-depth education possible. That includes being open to new ways of teaching and new technology meant to help support those methods, he said.
“We need to be incorporating those things,” Lyman said. “We need to continue moving what we’re teaching and how we’re teaching forward. We cannot get stuck in the mud. The days of the overhead projector are gone.”
Lyman wants to accomplish these goals collaboratively. He often mentions at candidate forums that the phone number on his campaign website or social media is his own cell phone, not an office landline or separate campaign phone. He said he's eager to speak with others in the district about how they want to see the board function and, if elected, how he can help incorporate good ideas.
“We gotta meet at the table,” Lyman said. “If you want to talk on the phone, we can do that. If you want to meet for coffee, if you want to meet at the library, if you want to meet wherever, let's get together. Let's talk about it.”
Home sweet home
Lyman's family moved to Columbia when he was 6 years old after his father got a job in the MU Department of Anthropology. Lyman started in the district in first grade and graduated from Rock Bridge High School in 1998.
Ryan Kenney is a friend who has worked alongside Lyman in their sons’ Cub Scout Pack. Kenney said he admires Lyman most for his dedication to community activities.
“He’s a lifelong Columbia, Missourian,” Kenney said. “I think the local flair that he will bring to the School Board, with him having perspective of what it was like being a student at CPS, having children at CPS and a wife that teaches at CPS — I just can’t think of a better guy to be doing that.”
Living in Columbia for so long has demonstrated to Lyman the vibrancy and rich diversity of the city and its people. He recalled a parent of one of his children’s classmates repeating the proverb “variety is the spice of life” at an event they attended. It hit home.
“That’s what Columbia is. It’s like the spice cabinet or something,” Lyman said. “All of these amazing people from all walks of life, Columbia has all of that.”
In no place is this more apparent than in the public school system, Lyman said, and that’s a major benefit to students. The more experience that students have around a greater variety of people will better prepare them for life after public education.
“(We need to) continue to celebrate that diversity, showcase that diversity and let our students know that that diversity is out there,” Lyman said. “It exists, and it’s awesome.”
But while Lyman wants to champion diversity, he also wants to take on disparities among schools. Although he praises district educators and appreciates the hard work they do, he recognizes that some schools have more resources than others. His wife’s journey from building to building during her career helped open his eyes to this.
“It brought to light that … there are some pros and cons that exist out there between one school and another,” Lyman said. “So continuing to shed light on those things to make sure that we’re as equitable as possible amongst all our schools is something that’s important.”
At Veterans United, Lyman works to uphold the “Veterans United Experience” — the idea that every veteran who reaches out for help gets the same high quality treatment, regardless of factors such as age or military branch. He believes this principle should be applied to public education.
“They all deserve that same experience," Lyman said of students. "So making sure that our schools and our teachers have those resources that are going to enable all of those students to have that same experience is crucial to me.”
Being a visible presence
In addition to addressing big, systemic issues like inequity among schools, Lyman deeply values "human experiences," which includes getting out in the community and helping out with district or student activities. He got to know Kenney after volunteering to serve as Cubmaster for their boys' Cub Scout Pack. It left a strong impression on Kenney, who at the time was serving as both interim Cubmaster and committee chair.
“Not only is he a parent who is willing to step up and volunteer, but that he was actually willing to come in and immediately take the highest leadership position within our Pack — it was greatly appreciated," Kenney said.
Kenney said that while there can sometimes be a lack of parent participation to help out with student activities in the community, Lyman's willingness to lead was refreshing. He quickly became "the face of the Pack," organizing Pack meetings and leading events.
Taking on such a role showed to parents and other Pack leaders how dedicated to the group Lyman was, Kenney said.
If elected, one way Lyman would translate this hands-on approach to the School Board is by visiting each of the almost three dozen district buildings over the course of the school year, perhaps one a week. He said a broader perspective of the district can help board members see the impact of their decisions, while the increased visibility demonstrates to parents and teachers how much they care.
“Being a much more visible presence in the community, at our school events, is something I really want to work towards,” Lyman said. “We should want to hear those firsthand accounts from our teachers, our staff, our administrators, our students, our families and to know what’s really going on.”
In addition to “Forward. Together,” Lyman has another short saying he associates with his campaign and its ideas: “Public schools for life.” It represents his own life, as a graduate of Columbia Public Schools and someone still deeply connected to the district through his family. But it also encapsulates his love for public education, the experiences it offers and the values it develops.
He hopes all of the stakeholders invested in the district can relate to these sentiments despite their differences.
"Let's sit down. Let's talk about it. Let's figure it out," Lyman said.
Former Missourian reporter Olivia Rodriguez contributed to this article.