School board race results: Voters kick out CPS incumbent; 3 newcomers elected to Indian Hills
Here's a look into the region's most high-profile board of education races, and who's been elected to help lead those districts come January.
Find live election results on The Enquirer's website
Cincinnati Public Schools
Incumbent Pam Bowers did not get re-elected to Cincinnati Public School's board of education Tuesday evening.
Voters instead chose newcomers Mary Wineberg, Kareem Moffett and Brandon Craig to join the board, along with incumbent Mike Moroski, according to unofficial election results.
Seven candidates ran for the district's four open board member seats.
Wineberg received 35,672 votes; Moroski received 30,153 votes; Moffett received 29,303 votes; and Craig received 29,240 votes, unofficial results show. Bowers came in after Craig with 18,490 votes, and candidate Gary Favors came in last with 12,040 votes.
Cincinnati Public Schools serves more than 35,000 students and is the third-largest public school district in the state of Ohio.
One of the first things this new board will oversee is the search for the district's new superintendent, as former superintendent Laura Mitchell resigned last spring to take over as CEO and president of Beech Acres Parenting Center. Former deputy superintendent Tianay Amat has stepped in as interim superintendent in the meantime.
Other pressing issues in the district include drops in enrollment, debate over the impact school resource officers have on CPS students and finding a solution to the abrupt cancellation of Metro's Xtra routes that for decades transported Cincinnati students to and from school.
More: 'I don't know where I'm at.' One student's first-day-of-school Metro journey
The Enquirer hosted a debate for CPS school board candidates a week before Election Day, at which most candidates said they do not wish to abolish the school resource officers in CPS schools, though some said they would like to see reform within the program.
Incumbent Mike Moroski was the only candidate who said he wanted to abolish the program, stating he has yet to see data that shows police officers in CPS schools are beneficial to student achievement.
"Until I do see it, I think we need to consider removing the program from our schools," Moroski said. "Because it is very clearly showing a disproportionate impact on our Black students."
Forest Hills Local School District
Forest Hills Local School District residents voted out incumbent and board president Forest Heis Tuesday evening, according to unofficial election results.
They elected three newcomers to the board: Katie Stewart, Sara Jonas and Bob Bibb.
According to unofficial results, Stewart received 6,113 votes; Jonas received 6,089 votes; and Bibb received 5,955 votes in Hamilton County.
Linda Marie Hausfeld won the open spot for an unexpired term ending in 2023 with 5,936 votes.
The district also serves families in Clermont County, though no votes from the county came in for the Forest Hills school board race.
Seven candidates were running for three seats on the Forest Hills' school board this year.
The Forest Hills race has been one of the local school races most driven by concerns over critical rate theory. Members of the community have staged multiple protests against the theory since spring, though superintendent Scot Prebles has repeatedly stated the district does not teach the theory in its schools.
The district also has faced backlash from alumni since changing the Anderson High School mascot last summer from the Redskins to the Raptors. Most of the candidates this year told The Enquirer they did not appreciate the way the district handled this change, though few stated they would be in favor of switching the mascot back if elected.
Forest Hills is the ninth-largest district in Southwest Ohio with just less than 7,000 students, according to the most recent state data.
Indian Hill Exempted Village School District
Voters elected three dads – all newcomers – who ran together this election season for Indian Hill school board: Bear Tullis, Craig Sumerel and Nolan Marx.
Unofficial election results showed all precincts had been reported for the district just after 10 p.m. Tullis lead with 1,440 votes, Sumerel received 1,285 votes and Marx received 1,280 votes.
Candidate Robert Warfel was close behind with 1,196 votes. Incumbent Elizabeth Johnston came in last of the 11 candidates with 434 votes, unofficial results show.
Indian Hill, which serves more than 2,000 students, is consistently ranked as one of the best districts in the state. It was ranked as No. 1 in the state and No. 22 in the country this year by Niche.com.
There were 11 candidates running for the Indian Hill board this year, the most candidates of any other race in the region. Many of the candidates alluded to the need for fiscal responsibility in their campaigns after voters passed the district's combined five-year operating levy and 30-year bond issue in May, costing the average homeowner about $1,890 per year.
Kings Local Schools
Voters elected incumbent Deb Cowan and newcomers Janelle Groff and John Skerl to Kings Local Schools' board of education Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.
Warren County Board of Elections showed Groff with 3,379 votes, Skerl with 3,280 votes and Cowan with 3,100 votes as of 9:42 p.m. Tuesday. Candidate Scott Schitter came in next with 2,022 votes.
Kings' board of education race had eight candidates, tied with Springboro Schools for the most school board candidates in Warren County.
Kings serves more than 4,600 students, according to state data.
Lakota Local School District
Voters elected newcomers Isaac Adi and Darbi Boddy and incumbent Kelley Casper to the Lakota Local Schools' board of education Tuesday evening.
Eight candidates were running for three open seats on the board.
Unofficial election results show Adi received 8,515 votes; Boddy received 8,363 votes; and Casper received 7,938 votes.
Incumbent Michael Pearl received 7,572 votes, according to unofficial results.
The Butler County district has been in the spotlight a couple times this election season, when U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel was escorted out of a school board meeting for speaking out against mask mandates, and then again in an Enquirer investigation into two candidates' possible campaign finance law violations through the use of Venmo.
Lakota is the second-largest school district in the region with nearly 16,000 students, according to the most recently released state data.
Lebanon City Schools
Voters elected Roy MacCutcheon and Jennifer Daulton to the Lebanon City School board on Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.
MacCutcheon received 3,150 votes and Daulton received 2,754 votes. Candidate Brighton Smith was not far behind with 2,668 votes.
There were six candidates running for two open seats on the Lebanon school board.
None of Lebanon's current board members up for reelection this year decided to run, leaving only newcomers on this year's ballot.
There are more than 5,000 students in the district, according to the most recently released state data.
Loveland City Schools
Voters elected incumbents Eileen Washburn and Eric Schwetschenau and newcomer Jonathan Eilert to Loveland City school board Tuesday night, according to unofficial election results.
In Hamilton County, Eilert received 1,531 votes; Washburn received 1,331 votes; and Schwetschenau received 1,307 votes.
The district also serves families in Clermont and Warren counties.
Eilert and Schwetschenau received the most votes in Clermont county, too, with 1,287 and 1,290 votes, respectively. Washburn received 1,029 votes behind candidate Al Juram.
In Warren County, Schwetschenau received 45 votes; Eilert received 33 votes; Elizabeth Mason received 32 votes; and Washburn received 30 votes.
Eight candidates were on the Loveland City Schools ballot this year, running for three open seats.
The district serves more than 4,100 students, according to state data. Loveland mainly serves families in Hamilton County, though it also includes some families in Clermont and Warren counties.
Oak Hills Local School District
Three newcomers – Bart West, Rich Haffey and Mischelle Philpot – were elected to Oak Hills' school board Tuesday evening.
According to unofficial election results, West received 7,431 votes; Haffey received 5,139 votes; and Philpot received 5,078 votes.
Six newcomers were on the Oak Hills school board ballot for three open seats. There were no incumbents on the ballot.
Oak Hills is the eighth largest district in Southwest Ohio, serving nearly 7,400 students, according to state data.
Sycamore Community School District
Voters elected incumbent Paul Balent and newcomers Sara Bitter and Lynne Stieger to Sycamore Schools' board of education Tuesday.
Unofficial election results show Bitter with 5,135 votes; Balent with 4,781 votes; and Stieger with 4,019 votes.
Incumbents David Evans and John Mercurio came in last with 1,921 votes and 2,402 votes, respectively.
There were seven candidates running for three open board seats.
Sycamore Schools came in at No. 4 in Ohio and No. 62 in the country this year in Niche.com's public school district rankings. The district serves nearly 5,400 students, primarily in Blue Ash and Montgomery.
Two Sycamore school board candidates, Bill Laverty and Josh Wooley, raised exceptionally high donations for their campaigns this year compared to other candidates in the region. A large donor to both of their campaigns was Zachary Haines, a Miami University trustee and rising GOP star in northeast Hamilton County.
"In my opinion, nothing is more important than our children's education," Haines wrote to The Enquirer via text. "I am a parent of two children that live in the district and I am supporting Josh Wooley and Bill Laverty because I believe that they have the leadership experience that can make Sycamore Schools the best in the state."
Talawanda School District
Voters elected incumbent Patrick Meade and newcomer David Bothast to Talawanda's school board Tuesday evening.
Unofficial results show Meade received 2,792 votes and Bothast received 2,545 votes.
There were five candidates running in the Talawanda school board race for two open seats.
Critical race theory and mask policies, as with other districts in the region, were of the biggest issues in Talawanda's school board race. The Butler County district serves just under 2,800 students.