ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — While every Athens County board of education has candidates on this year’s general election ballot, only two have competitive races — both in districts that have faced problems in the past year.
Federal Hocking Local Schools, coming off a contentious year under previous superintendent Jason Spencer, has eight candidates running for four seats. Trimble Local Schools, which is under state management during a fiscal emergency, has four candidates for three seats.
The Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center also has multiple candidates running for a single seat.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Early voting is currently underway. Find more information from the Athens County Board of Elections.
Federal Hocking Local School District
The Federal Hocking Local School District will be among the county’s most competitive elections this year, with six candidates running for three full terms and another two vying to complete an unexpired term.
Incumbent Sara Brumfield faces competition from Ronda Clark, Jeremy Miller, Mary Mitchell, Gem S. Stone, and Angela R. Williams for three terms that expire Dec. 31.
One of those three seats was held by board president Kerry Sheridan-Boyd, who did not seek re-election. The other was held by Lester Green until his death in late 2024. Aaron Tate was appointed to fill that vacancy in January.
However, Tate is running for a different position — a term expiring in 2027 that was held by Dan Torrence until he moved out of the district late last year. Mike Lucas, who was appointed to Torrence’s seat, did not file to run for the permanent position. Tate faces Kizzi Elmore-Clark for the seat.
The candidates, aside from Miller and Mitchell, participated in a League of Women Voters event Oct. 8. Miller and Mitchell could not be reached in time for publication.
Brumfield said at the forum that she sees declining enrollment as the district’s biggest issue, which she would hope to address in part by expanding programming for district students.
Clark focused at the forum on how establishing a Federal Hocking Textbook Foundation to attract donations for books could save the district money.
Stone said at the forum that she would work at the state and federal level to get more attention on the district’s needs, and that she would enhance communication between the district and residents.
Williams would come to the position after 25 years as a paraprofessional at the district, focused on special education. At the League forum, she focused on improving the district’s process for individualized education plans.
Elmore-Clark said at the League event that she wants to focus on hiring a permanent superintendent for the district and that the board should put more scrutiny on district expenditures.
Tate said he wants to address declining enrollment in the district by focusing on behavioral problems in an empathetic manner.
Mitchell, a retired Coolville Elementary principal said she would like to see the district secure a permanent superintendent, see the district watch its finances, grow its reputation and subsequently increase enrollment.
Trimble Local School District
Four people are running for three seats on Trimble’s board of education. Incumbents Gary Arnold, Kevin Coey, and John Standley are defending their seats against newcomer Carl Fouts.
The board elections come at an important time for the district as it navigates its fiscal emergency. District residents will vote upon a proposed earned income tax supporting the district this fall, too.
At a League of Women Voters event, Arnold expressed skepticism about the state’s interest in cutting more positions from the district, characterized the current fiscal emergency as the result of poor judgment, and expressed support for the district’s proposed earned income tax.
Coey, meanwhile, said he hoped to get the district’s finances in order through board scrutiny of expenditures, and potential cuts to administrative positions that could be possible through more partnership with the Athens-Meigs ESC.
Likewise, Standley told the Independent he is running to help see the district through its current emergency. He said he is the only member of the board that served during the district’s last fiscal emergency, which he described as a valuable experience to bring to working with the state in the current situation.
“I’m the only one from that period of time, and I know from experience what’s expected by the state of Ohio,” Standley said. “I try to lend that.”
Standley expressed skepticism about the possibility of further cuts, saying, “We’re pretty close to bare bones.” He said he hopes the district will be able to raise revenue rather than cut expenditures, saying he supports “anything that’s a possibility, for not having cuts.”
Fouts said at the League event that he was motivated to run to address the district’s finances and expressed concern for the fate of the village should the local school close.
An unexpired term ending in December 2027 has no eligible candidate. The seat is currently held by appointee Susan Shafer, but she is moving out of the district and therefore ineligible to serve on the board.
Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center Governing Board
The Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center has three candidates running for one at-large seat: Fred Davis, Kevin Dugan and Lynette Marie Thompson.
The ESC provides business, educational and student services to districts in its service area.
Davis told the Independent that he spent 40 years on the Alexander Board of Education.
“I’ve always been interested in services for kids and the importance of education, especially in southeastern Ohio and the poor counties in this part of the state, and I always felt the best way out of poverty and to increase the quality of your life is through education,” Davis told the Independent.
Davis said his experience leading the Athens County Emergency Management Agency has also prepared him to serve on the ESC board, noting his experience identifying funding and supporting area programs.
“Whether it’s supplementing fire departments or villages or school districts, I’ve done that for quite a few years, so it’s just a natural transition,” Davis said.
He said he would look for anything the ESC could do to supplement area school districts and advocate for them at the state level.
Dugan and Thompson did not share their contact information via the Athens County Board of Elections. The Independent attempted to contact both candidates but did not hear back by press time.
Uncontested elections
Three seats on the Athens City school board are up for election, with incumbents Paul Grippa and Charity Wilhelm joined by Jason Heinrich, who is running unopposed for the seat held by Sean Parsons.
In the Nelsonville-York City School District, Micah J. Covert is running unopposed. Michael S. Elliot seeks the other open seat currently held by Gary Edwards. Elliot was appointed to fill a term that expires in December 2027; no one filed a valid petition for that position.
In the Alexander Local School District, Jay Barnes and Aaron Ramsey will return to their seats, while Ben Ashcraft is running uncontested for the seat currently held by Josh Collins.
The Ohio Valley Educational Service Center will see Patrick E. Lang and Randolph W. Shrider on the ballot for two seats representing the southern district, with no valid petition filed for an unexpired position for the district.
The Warren Local School District, whose boundaries extend slightly into northeastern Athens County from Washington County, will see Robert Crum and Cliff Pettey compete alongside write-in candidate Bob Allen for three positions. Stacey Greenup seeks election to fill an unexpired term on the board that she currently holds by appointment.
Note: We updated this article around 5:30 p.m. Oct. 30 to include information about Mary Mitchell.
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