HARROD, Ohio (WLIO) — It was a packed house Tuesday night at the Harrod Event Center as Allen East families gathered to meet and learn more about the candidates running for the school board on next Tuesday’s ballot.
Moderated by the Lima League of Women Voters, candidates Casey Counts, Brian Hershberger, Sara Jones, Claire Mackey, Crosby McDorman and Kyle Miller answered a variety of questions submitted by audience members. The Allen East “Meet the Candidates Night” comes as Allen East Superintendent Mel Rentschler announced his retirement at the most recent board meeting.
Your News Now spoke with all six candidates about why they’re running and what plans of action they have if elected.
"I've been on the board for 8 years now, decided I want to run for one last term. I love this community; I love this school. Our superintendent just announced that he's going to be retiring. We need to find another good superintendent to lead us. We need to stay fiscally responsible. Right now, we're in a very good financial situation at Allen East. We like to stay there," says Kyle Miller, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
"I love seeing all the positive things that we have, but I believe there are more things that we can be doing for our school system. I would love to see our teacher retention rate improving. I would love to see services for the special education program and for the gifted program. We're starting a new chapter. Our superintendent has recently announced that he will be moving on, so we will be hiring a new superintendent," says Claire Mackey, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
"I've thought about it for a long time, and I feel like I want to get back to where I can give back to this community. This culture needs to improve. We've lost teachers to neighboring school districts for reasons I think we could control. Our children deserve the best teachers, and I want to keep them here," says Crosby McDorman, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
"I really want to make this school the best it could possibly be. I want to make sure all the kids have an equal opportunity to participate. One of my biggest goals is improving teacher appreciation, improving teacher retention and recruiting. I really want this to be like the beacons of Allen County that teachers want to come and work at," says Casey Counts, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
"I'm running for my fourth term. Our superintendent has announced at our last meeting that he will retire at the end of this year. I think it would be important to have the experience of a seasoned board member when we're picking a new superintendent. The programs that we've expanded, the services for kids, the STEM labs and the expansion of athletic facilities- it's just been amazing, and I just hope that we can grow on that," says Brian Hershberger, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
"I'm running for re-election. I just love what we do at the school, and I want to continue to make it grow and make it better. We had an improvement in our state grade card this year, and we always want to keep building on, making Allen East a great place for an education," says Sara Jones, Candidate for the Allen East School Board.
Allen East residents will vote to fill three seats on the school board.
