Pittsburg born and raised, JJ Karlinger, is running for the USD 250 school board this coming election on Nov. 4. He works for the Frontenac Police Department where he is a sergeant detective.
Growing up in Pittsburg, Karlinger went to Lakeside Elementary, then to Pittsburg Middle School, then on to Pittsburg High School. This experience was very important, he said, which is a part of his reason for running for the school board.
“A lot of it has to do, I think, with my experience growing up here,” Karlinger said. “I kind of want to give that to the kids that are coming back up. I had such a great experience really, just being born and raised here in Pittsburg’s been so good to me. It has sort of been a little bit of a theme in my life. A theme to try and make this area better, whether it is through law enforcement or this. That’s what kind of caused me to do it after talking to a lot of teachers and kind of getting input from them. I feel like I’m doing it for the right reason. I don’t have any kind of axe to grind or anything like that. I just want to make sure that I try to set everyone up for success.”
A major thing for Karlinger is to work on what has already been established, he said.
“We have kids that have gotten scholarships, gone to MIT and other prestigious universities,” Karlinger said. “Our theatre program has amazing shows. Middle school has an esports program, so we just need to keep on building what we have with that, then continue to bring in more community. They’ve done a good job with that so far, the district has. The partnerships with Pitt State, the city, other businesses, and organizations, I just want to continue to foster and build on that.”
Karlinger stressed that he wants students to feel supported in their school years and beyond.
“I could not imagine life without the Pittsburg schools,” Karlinger said. “You’re talking to a hometown guy, so it is like we sort of bleed purple in my house. To me, it’s a rich tradition. You don’t see a lot of purple dragons running around outside of Pittsburg. But I think it’s important for the kids to know they have a bright future, and we can support them in that way. So, when they get beyond grade school, high school, they know that Pittsburg is still going to be here to support them and that we’re rooting for them.”
Part of Karlinger’s goals is related to his history as a detective. He wants to ask questions and gather the information.
“I’d come in with eyes wide open, willing to take in whatever information is available to us, and then make a good decision based off that,” Karlinger said. “That is a lot of what I do in law enforcement. I’m a detective, so I like to ask questions. I like to find out information and then make decisions based on the information that I expected. So, I think that is what I want to do. Just bring in the information before we make any kind of decision and what’s going to be best for the teachers, for the students and then for the community as well.”
As a part of the community, Pitt State and Pittsburg High School sports, and sports in general are very important to his “sports oriented” family,” he said. Karlinger entered the police academy in 2008 and got engaged to his wife, Angela, at his police academy graduation. They now have a son, Cash, who is 12 years old.
For this year’s election, Karlinger’s hope is for people to vote, he said.
“The biggest thing is I want people to vote,” Karlinger said. “Sure, I hope they vote for me, but if they don’t, they go out and vote, then they’re doing their part. I appreciate that.”