A Lawrence banker Tuesday filed for Lawrence school board.

Cindy Yulich, 43, became the first official candidate for one of the four vacancies on the board. The general election is April 1.

“I believe in the power of public education and I believe in community service,” she said at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Four members of the board – Scott Morgan, Mary Loveland, Jack Davidson and Sue Morgan – face re-election. None have committed to running again.

Yulich, who oversees both Emprise bank locations in Lawrence, has lived in the city for 11 years.

She has two children in the public school district – one at Southwest Junior High School and the other at Quail Run School.

Yulich has been a volunteer with the Lawrence business-education partnership program since 1995. She’s on the site councils of East Heights and Quail Run schools.

She supports the board’s proposed $59 million bond issue for school construction and renovation.

“I’d be for the bond issue,” Yulich said.

The bond vote will coincide with the school board election.

Yulich also endorsed closure of elementary schools – Centennial, East Heights and Riverside – to more efficiently allocate the district’s budget.

She said she didn’t want the election to focus entirely on the bond issue and consolidation.

“This shouldn’t be a single-issue campaign,” she said.

The political debate needs to include strategies for protecting the district’s quality teaching staff and maintaining solid academic programs in the schools, Yulich said.