Mandie Thompson is running as an independent for the District 7 seat on the Escambia County Board of Education.

As of May 29, Thompson qualified to run as an independent for the election.

Thompson, an Atmore resident, is a Flomaton native and serves in many organizations, including the Atmore Historical Society, Leadership Atmore and Pride of Atmore, to name a few.

She went to school at Flomaton Elementary and Middle Schools, and was home schooled starting in the ninth grade because her mother was sick.

Thompson said she is running for the board of education because she wants to bring an awareness that says that the school system is great.

“I want an open policy,” she said. “I want the reputation of our schools to be amazing. I feel like if we increase our schools’ reputation, we’ll increase our economy.

“If we’re not loud and proud about it, and not getting anything happening, we’re not going to have these big-ticket companies coming in,” she said. “I want to take the knowledge of penny pinching to our school board. And with bringing this knowledge, I want to focus on transparency,” she said. “I want not only the school board, but concerned citizens to be able to look at the budget.”

Thompson added that schools in Atmore are getting the same curriculum as Flomaton and East Brewton, and all should be happy.

Thompson said if elected, she plans on also bringing an awareness to all of the successful programs that are active at the high school.

“We have amazing schools, and I believe in being vigilant and being visible,” she said. “If I’m not elected, my goal is still to be in schools. I have an open door policy. Come by my house. I’m there for you because I’m here for your kids.”

When asked if there’s one issue that needs some work within the school system, Thompson said there isn’t just one thing.

“There are a lot of things that equate to a bigger picture,” she said. “There are smaller things that happen to make the bigger picture so much more vibrant and interesting. I want the schools to be recognized for what they do. My main focus is to clean up the reputation, and making sure I’m going to be involved.”

Thompson is the daughter of James and Pam Jones, and the granddaughter the late Charlie Kilgore and the late Louise Kilgore.

Thompson is married to Jonathan Thompson. They relocated to Atmore in 2008 before the birth of their oldest child, Trinity. They have two children, Romulus and Trinity. Both attend Rachel Patterson.