Josh Wrestler made the commitment to run for reelection to the USD 258 Humboldt Board of Education with only minutes to spare.
With a noon deadline, “It was 11:50 a.m. when I signed up,” he said.
Wrestler has been on the board since 2019, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy created when Scott Murrow left the board to take over the district’s building trades program.
Wrestler is in his second year as board president and one of 10 candidates for four open seats in an unusually competitive USD 258 school board election. Wrestler and the three other incumbents, Sandy Whitaker, Drake Tilman, and Tony Works, have all filed for reelection.
“The main reason I did was our bond issue,” said Wrestler. “I do this for the kids and the community, but the main reason I signed up was for our bond issue,” said Wrestler. “We’re right in the middle of a bond issue that we’ve been working on since 2019. I want to make sure we see this through.”
That said, Wrestler seems strangely at peace with the upcoming election.
“Of the 10 people running, I know 9 of them well. None are trying to wreck anything. Either way, if I get voted in or not, I trust the people who are running.”
WRESTLER, a 38-year-old farmer who lives east of Humboldt, has four children with Kelly, his wife of 14 years. The oldest, Trey Sommer, is a freshman at Emporia State. Seventh-grader Tucker, 5th-grader Hudson and 2nd-grader Harlo follow.
Along with Wrestler’s father, David, and brother, David, Josh and Kelly farm corn, soybeans and oats on around 3,400 acres. The family also has an oil business and raises cattle.
Wrestler made the switch to full-time farming about four years ago, after “doing just about everything. I’ve worked at Gates, Monarch – I started making pizza at Opie’s at age 14.”
He earned an associate degree from Allen Community College. From there he attended Kansas State University for one year, but left for a job in Garnett at what’s now Beachner Grain.
Wrestler is a 2003 graduate of Humboldt High School, so he’s familiar with both the district and its families.
Reflecting on his service so far, he’s proudest that “we survived COVID. That was when we had the most sleepless nights,” he said. “Everyone looked to us to keep their kids safe, and none of us has a medical degree. That was the hardest year. We had to make the call to take away a lot of seniors’ spring sports season.”
Wrestler also mentions the district’s vote on a four-day school week as another tough juncture. The board voted 5-2 last March to stay with the traditional five-day week.
“I was extremely torn,” he said. “I walked into that meeting not having a clue how I was going to vote.
