School Board Election Filing Begins
July 23, 2020 at 12:17 a.m.
School Board Election Filing Begins
By David [email protected]
Incumbents Randy Polston and Elizabeth “Elle” Turley filed for Districts 4 and 3, respectively, while newcomer Matt Deuel filed for District 6 of the Warsaw School Board. District 6 is currently held by Jay Baumgartner, who is not seeking re-election.
If re-elected Nov. 3, Polston said it’ll be his third four-year term and the first Warsaw School Board member to serve three consecutive terms. The school board changed the rules a few years ago to allow board members to serve three consecutive terms instead of two.
Polston has been connected to Warsaw Community Schools for 42 years in some capacity – nine years as a teacher, 25 as a principal and eight years on the school board. Another term would give him 46 years.
Turley is completing her last year of her first four-year term. She said it takes a “good” four years to see all the work come to fruition.
Deuel said he was looking for some more ways to invest himself in the community when he heard Baumgartner was retiring after this term. He talked to Baumgartner, other board members and Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert before making the decision to run.
“I just felt like it was a good time for me to step up and serve,” Deuel, 43, said.
As for goals, Polston said, “My No. 1 goal is to continue working together as a group on the projects that are before us.” He said the projects include offering the “very best education” for all kids in grades kindergarten to 12th. Each member of the school board brings strength to the board and he wants to see their work continue moving forward.
Turley said after learning about the benefits and limitations of the school board process, she just wants to continue focusing on putting the best education out there for Warsaw’s future citizens.
In 2016, Deuel served on the Warsaw Community Schools Strategic Planning Committee. He also serves on the board of directors for Agaitas, a local sports and leadership development program.
Deuel said his No. 1 goal if elected to the school board is to do lots of listening and learning since he will be the “rookie” on the board. As the owner of One Voice media, a video production company, he said his strength is in communication and he expects the school board will need to do a lot of that over the next few years, especially.
A number of area school boards also have seats up for election this fall.
For election of members of the Board of School Trustees of the Wawasee Community School Corporation, voters may vote for no more than two candidates from Districts 1, 2 or 3 for the two at-large seats. Current office holders are Mike Wilson and Don Bokhart.
At Tippecanoe Valley, school board seats for Harrison and Seward Districts are up for election. Tippecanoe Valley includes Fulton and Kosciusko counties. Currently, Aaron Zolman represents Harrison and Adam Heckaman represents Seward.
There are three seats up for election at Whitko, which includes Whitley and Kosciusko counties. Those are for Districts 1, 2 and 3 and are represented by Georgia Penny, Carrie Hoffman and Matt Oong respectively.
Triton Schools includes Kosciusko and Marshall counties. The school corporation has one at-large and one District 3 seat up for election this fall. Kevin Boyer is the current at-large school board member, while Weston Rettinger is the District 3 representative.
In the Wa-Nee Community School district, which includes schools in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, there are two at-large seats (held now by Christina Eshelman and Shawn Johnson), an Olive Township seat (Todd Gongwer) and a Jefferson and Scott townships seat (Don Lehman) up for election.
Filing for school boards ends at noon Aug. 21. Information on the election, filing and other election issues can be found at kcgov.com under “Elections.”
The last day to register to vote for the general election will be Oct. 5. You may vote in the general election if you didn't vote in the primary election.
Incumbents Randy Polston and Elizabeth “Elle” Turley filed for Districts 4 and 3, respectively, while newcomer Matt Deuel filed for District 6 of the Warsaw School Board. District 6 is currently held by Jay Baumgartner, who is not seeking re-election.
If re-elected Nov. 3, Polston said it’ll be his third four-year term and the first Warsaw School Board member to serve three consecutive terms. The school board changed the rules a few years ago to allow board members to serve three consecutive terms instead of two.
Polston has been connected to Warsaw Community Schools for 42 years in some capacity – nine years as a teacher, 25 as a principal and eight years on the school board. Another term would give him 46 years.
Turley is completing her last year of her first four-year term. She said it takes a “good” four years to see all the work come to fruition.
Deuel said he was looking for some more ways to invest himself in the community when he heard Baumgartner was retiring after this term. He talked to Baumgartner, other board members and Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert before making the decision to run.
“I just felt like it was a good time for me to step up and serve,” Deuel, 43, said.
As for goals, Polston said, “My No. 1 goal is to continue working together as a group on the projects that are before us.” He said the projects include offering the “very best education” for all kids in grades kindergarten to 12th. Each member of the school board brings strength to the board and he wants to see their work continue moving forward.
Turley said after learning about the benefits and limitations of the school board process, she just wants to continue focusing on putting the best education out there for Warsaw’s future citizens.
In 2016, Deuel served on the Warsaw Community Schools Strategic Planning Committee. He also serves on the board of directors for Agaitas, a local sports and leadership development program.
Deuel said his No. 1 goal if elected to the school board is to do lots of listening and learning since he will be the “rookie” on the board. As the owner of One Voice media, a video production company, he said his strength is in communication and he expects the school board will need to do a lot of that over the next few years, especially.
A number of area school boards also have seats up for election this fall.
For election of members of the Board of School Trustees of the Wawasee Community School Corporation, voters may vote for no more than two candidates from Districts 1, 2 or 3 for the two at-large seats. Current office holders are Mike Wilson and Don Bokhart.
At Tippecanoe Valley, school board seats for Harrison and Seward Districts are up for election. Tippecanoe Valley includes Fulton and Kosciusko counties. Currently, Aaron Zolman represents Harrison and Adam Heckaman represents Seward.
There are three seats up for election at Whitko, which includes Whitley and Kosciusko counties. Those are for Districts 1, 2 and 3 and are represented by Georgia Penny, Carrie Hoffman and Matt Oong respectively.
Triton Schools includes Kosciusko and Marshall counties. The school corporation has one at-large and one District 3 seat up for election this fall. Kevin Boyer is the current at-large school board member, while Weston Rettinger is the District 3 representative.
In the Wa-Nee Community School district, which includes schools in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, there are two at-large seats (held now by Christina Eshelman and Shawn Johnson), an Olive Township seat (Todd Gongwer) and a Jefferson and Scott townships seat (Don Lehman) up for election.
Filing for school boards ends at noon Aug. 21. Information on the election, filing and other election issues can be found at kcgov.com under “Elections.”
The last day to register to vote for the general election will be Oct. 5. You may vote in the general election if you didn't vote in the primary election.
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