Ohio Department of Education State Board Races

The state school board is made up of 19 members, 11 elected members and 8 appointed by the Governor. 

In a statement released in September from elected State Board of Education Members Christina Collins,  Meryl Johnson, Antoinette Miranda, and Michelle Newman expressed their "embarrassment" with the Shea Title IX Resolution stating it was "full of factual errors and religious pedagogy." Apparently these members find sincerely held religious beliefs under Ohio law and biological sex being an objective, scientific fact triggering. These board members DID get one thing right in their statement they SHOULD be spending their time discussing opportunities for Ohio's children in literacy, career readiness, school safety, preschool access, and STEM development rather than the CASEL approved SEL curriculum implemented during their tenure meant to utilize SEL as a lever for equity and social justice. 

It is time to engage and approach these state school board elections as we would all other races. We must understand how they are elected, which communities/counties they serve, and when we vote for them.

November Ballot Candidates 

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State Board of Education Maps

District 2 candidates: District 2 is made up of Senate districts 2, 11 and 13. This contains Erie, Huron, Lorain, Lucas, Ottawa and Wood.

Sarah McGervey (R) is a middle school teacher with a social media presence who wishes to ensure local control of schools, protect parents rights in schools, and revise standardized testing to more accurately reflect student knowledge. No doubt Sarah will have a useful resource in Kathleen McGervey, her mother, given her tenure on the State Board of Education serving District 2 from 2010 to 2018 . On McGervey's Facebook page, she shared, "We need to protect scientific factual information regarding biology, as well as -women’s rights in school and sports." 

• McGervey seems a strong advocate standing against CRT and comprehensive sexual education. She seems like the kind of candidate you would want in your mom tribe, especially if you have daughters.
  

Teresa Fedor (D) is a present member of the Ohio State Senate representing Senate District 11, a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 45th and 47th House District from 2011-2018, and recently defeated in the May 3rd primary as John Cranley's running mate for Lt. Governor. Fedor recently went on the record regarding Shea's Title IX Resolution saying, "This resolution hides under a very thin veil of ‘supporting families,’ but we must call it what it is: an unnecessary, unprovoked attack on Ohio’s children. The resolution is harassment — full stop. If adopted, our youth will be pushed into social isolation, stigmatization, bullying and potentially even self-harm."  Fedor is endorsed by the Ohio Federation of Teachers, a teachers union.

• Her comments ignore gender affirmation may have little to no effect on these individuals mental health according to key corrections of an American Journal of Psychiatry study. This candidate seems a habitual candidate and endorsments by teachers unions is in the negative column as these unions have seemingly forgotten they educate students not execute leftists agendas. 

District 3 candidates: District 3 is made up of Senate Districts 4, 5, and 6. This contains Butler, Preble, Montgomery, and Miami.  

incumbent Charlotte McQuire (R) is running uncontested.  Charlotte has worked for over 40 years in nonprofit organizations and government, including as community affairs director for Dayton and is affiliated with Dayton Right To Life. She and her husband launched the Excel Afterschool Program, which assists parents to help improve elementary school achievement and attendance. She and her husband also founded and lead a nondenominational church.

District 4 candidates: District 4 is made up of Senate Districts 7, 8, and 9. This contains Warren and Hamilton counties.

 incumbent Jenny Kilgore (R) teaches undergraduate education majors at Miami University and education graduate students at Indiana Wesleyan. Kilgore has been a strong and outspoken member on the board focusing on keeping the schools free from distraction and focusing on academics rather than indoctrination. 

• Jenny seems a consistent calm voice of reason, rational logic, and common sense. She is a no nonsense candidate that clearly and concisely conveys her position. 

Katie Hofmann (D) taught music in Cincinnati City Schools for over 30 years. She has been involved with the Cincinnati teachers union for decades and served as the collective bargaining chair for the teachers' union previously. Hoffman has secured endorsements from Ohio Federation of Teachers, Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus, and Ohio Education Association.  

• This candidate was difficult to research. Beyond her union circle and a few facebook posts, she has said little about her candidacy.
   

District 9 candidates: District 9 is made up of Senate Districts 18, 29, 28, and 32. This contains Stark, Portage, Trumble, Ashtabula, Lake, and the east side of Geauga county. `

incumbent John Hagan (R) has also been a strong outspoken leader among board members speaking at an anti-CRT rally in June and participating in education discussion panels across the state. Most recently prepared to support Shea's Title IX Resolution, Hagan was recently quoted as saying, "If the intent is to kill this [Shea's Title IX Resolution], and I believe it is, then this is the motion you want to vote for, to send it to committee [Executive Committee]." 

• Hagan seems a strong fatherly presence on the board. Watching and listening to him on discussion panels he seems solid and unwaivering in his desire to bring the board back to serving students first.  

Robert Fulton (party affiliation unknown) is a retired teacher serving on the Streetsboro School District Board of Education. Fulton plans to help develop a policy for equal funding across all school districts, to strengthen education to incentivize corporations to stay or relocate to Ohio, and wants to work on developing internships for students. He would also like teachers to be able to have input when determining whether a child is proficient on standardized testing. The Repository did an interview with Fulton you can read here. 

• This candidate was also difficult to research dispite having served in neighboring local districts that surroung my own. Robert has no social media presence beyond the Women's League of Voter survey he filled out, his school board directory information, and the Repository interview.
  

 District 10: District 10 is made up of Senate districts 21, 27 and 28. This contains the east side of Cuyahoga County, west side of Geauga County, and all of both Summit and Portage counties.

incumbent Tim Miller (R) was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor DeWine on Jan. 8, 2021, to complete the last two years of a four-year term. Tim currently serves as Vice Chair of the Emerging Issues and Operational Standards Committee, is a member of the Budget Committee, a member of the Teaching Leading and Learning Committee, a member of the EMIS Committee, and is part of the Business Partnership Strategies workgroup. Tim recently stated of Shea's Title IX Resolution, "I think we owe the people a more open discussion on this....These kids exists. And there's been absolutely no discussion about what we can do for these kids. That bothers me more than anything else in this whole discussion." 

• No one is saying kids aren't confused about their "gender identity" these days, they aren't unicorns (well maybe 😏). How could we go wrong with "intersectionality" and "the gender spectrum" muddying biological gender in Ohio schools!?! Expecting  more from Tim in the future goes without saying. 
  

Cierra Lynch Shehorn (R) is no stranger to politics having worked as a regional field director for the Ohio Republican Party in 2018, a government relations staff assistant with a government relations firm, and a assistant to the Executive Director and Stakeholder Liaison at the State Medical Board of Ohio. Lynch Shehorn refers to herself as the "student first candidate fighting for common-sense decisions at the state level that benefit students, parents and taxpayers.”  Lynch Shehorn is married to Andrew Shehorn, the Assistant Director of the Summit County Board of Elections and the Executive Director of the Summit County GOP, whom she is endorsed by. 

• A potentially good person, this candidate has the pedigree of a Summit County swamper in her early to late 20's. Having no children herself, Shehorn has no pony in the race other than her political career. Lynch has experience in media and marketing which lends to her young professional Republican appeal, however, will she be able to stand against the establishment she serves?
  

Tom Jackson (D) has a degree in education and is on the Solon City Schools Strategic Planning team and Chairman of the Board of the Solon Chamber of Commerce. Find Tom's endorsements here, which includes Ohio Federation of Teachers. Recently interviewed, here is what Tom had to say on education, "Ohio legislators are attempting to defund public education so it’s time to put folks like me in a position to advocate for fair school funding, better working and learning conditions, and upgrading our school buildings to meet the needs of the future.” 

• Clearly he forgot the 4.4 billion in pandemic relief funding Ohio schools were infused with. Some districts received sums amounting to 50% or more of the cost to operate their schools for a year. While 20% must be used to address learning setbacks, the rest can be used on nearly any cost school officials deem “reasonable and necessary.”   

As discussed above, these races matter to protect the innocents of our children and to get back to the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic in Ohio schools rather than radical gender bending political agendas and SEL curriculum! We are only as good as the candidates we put into these races. We can not continue to "hold our nose and vote for...." because the lesser of two evils is still evil. Quality candidates are key! You can find each state board members terms on their biographies here. Get involved, go to a school board meeting, engage the process.  Local school board races happen in odd number years and 2023 is around the corner! 

Stay focused Ohio.....