A candidate for Lawrence school board says she’s dropping out of the race, citing personal reasons.

Diane Lindeman, director of student financial assistance for the Kansas Board of Regents, decided during the weekend that she’d be unable to run the type of campaign necessary to win one of four seats up for election April 5.

“I know how much time and energy I would need to devote to this to be a successful candidate and frankly I find myself in a place at this time in which I don’t think that will be possible,” she said. “Fortunately, there are many good people who are in this race and I am happy that the voters will have such good choices.”

Despite dropping out of the race, Lindeman’s name will appear on ballots alongside nine other candidates. That’s because the deadline for filing as a candidate — noon Jan. 25 — was the same as for withdrawing from the race.

The name stays, because that’s state law.

“No candidate may withdraw after the withdrawal deadline,” said Jamie Shew, Douglas County clerk. “There’s no wiggle room in that. … It’s not open to interpretation.”

District voters faced a similar situation in 2009, when eight candidates were vying for three open seats. At that time John Mitchell, then an incumbent board member, had filed as a candidate but soon dropped out, given that enough other candidates had filed.

Mitchell, whose name remained on the ballot, finished eighth with a few more than 1,000 votes.

At the Board of Regents, Lindeman oversees 17 programs with combined budgets of $22 million. Before that she worked as director of admissions for the law school at Kansas University, and early in her career worked as a high school history teacher. She also has served as president of the PTA at Schwegler School.