The three board members whose terms expired Dec. 31 did not file for re-election. They were Theresa Dunaway, Anne Zakkour and Simon Patry. Patry resigned from his board seat Sept. 5, citing business and family obligations.
Linda Ares
Linda Ares is no stranger to the Tipp City Schools. She taught in the district for 30 years and served as school bond issue committee chair in 2019.
“Because our schools are the most important asset in our community, I want to be a part of maintaining and advancing the tradition of excellence in Tipp City Schools,” said Ares, 70, who is lead pastor at Charis Ministry.
Challenges facing the board and community include the aging school buildings, she said, adding, “They are extremely dated and are inadequate to accommodate the 21st-century educational technology. It is crucial that the board and superintendent maintain transparency and excellent communication with the community as we move through the process.”
The board also must deal with loss of public trust in its ability to work collaboratively to achieve goals. “I will work with the other members to restore community trust of the board. I will work with the board to clarify community understanding of issues, following up with action on concerns brought to the board, and by including all of the diverse voices in our community,” she said.
The board also must support the district’s leadership team, Ares said, noting its proper role is one of leadership focused on student achievement and classroom instruction. Board members need to build positive and trusting relationships with the superintendent and not operate independently of the leadership team, Ares said. “As a board member I will support the superintendent’s goals for the district’s education objectives, teacher support, and student achievement.”
Cindy Wilson Dillard
Cindy Wilson Dillard, 63, is a candidate because she wants to give back to the community that educated her and seven siblings.
“It is my hope that my leadership, knowledge and experience will help cultivate and grow community confidence in our school board,” said Dillard, a retired educator who worked as a teacher, principal, director and instructional coach.
The district’s biggest challenge is the lost of trust in the school board, she said. “Trust can only be built on demonstrating qualities of character and competence. I will be fair, transparent and have no hidden motives. I am a problem solver and I have persistence. People can depend on me to do my homework and be prepared,” she said.
The high turnover of schools’ staff is another priority, Dillard said. The board needs to promote and retain staff with a culture and climate that “grows our own,’ she said. To do this, opportunities for staff to be heard, recognized and appreciated as well as leadership development need to be expanded. “Empowerment in the workplace is being heard and our staff want to be heard,” she said.
A third challenge is planning for safe and up to date learning environments. “Plans have been recommended for a new building, but that timeline will take several years. We must maintain safe and healthy learning environments in our present buildings now. To do this we must review and update our facility maintenance plans, prioritize needs and involve more business, parent and community partnerships,” Dillard said.
Joshua Grear
Joshua Grear, 38, is running for the board because “I am tired of the behavior of some of our board members, and wanted to be a part of the change.”
Grear is a military account manager. He listed new schools as the biggest challenge for the board.
“I hope it is not a secret how deplorable some of the infrastructure has become from years of use. It is time to make the hard decisions based on the return of investment of Tipp City tax dollars and develop a plan that is fiscally responsible and the best solution for educating our children,” Grear said.
Another challenge is the district’s image, which he described as “tarnished.”
“We have made international news for all the wrong reasons. We need people who bring a positive attitude and desire to make the district better for everyone and not just for a single person,” he said.
And, Grear said the board needs to work on the culture around the district. “We have multiple items that need the community to come together on. Everything from the stadium, the environment our teachers work in, the kind of education we want our children to have, and many more. We need to re-establish our culture and not let anyone take it away again,” he said.
Credit: Trey Clark
Credit: Trey Clark
Ray Lilly
Ray Lilly, 30, said he is running for the board to make a difference in the community and the make schools a better place for his children.
“I am just an average dad that wants the best for his children and the schools they will go to. I don’t have an agenda going into this election - I want to hear the concerns of other parents and members of the community to make Tipp City the #1 school in the area,” he said.
A senior business analyst in clinical research information for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Lilly said the top challenges include establishing a better relationship with the school board and community, exploring options of a new school and establishing a more professional rapport within the board.
“It is no secret that there is tension between the community and the current school board as it sits. I believe that a large part of these issues stems from the professionalism (or lack thereof) of two members that are not running for re-election. By building trust and open lines of communication with parents and the community, we can establish a better rapport and make progress towards our goals,” he said.
He said he supports a new school(s) for the district. “The state of the elementary schools does not reflect our top tier district,” he said.
Angie McMurry
McMurry is an educator and mother who wants to collaborate to ensure the community is preparing for student needs in the ever-evolving world of education.
McMurry, 46, a former Tipp City schools student and teacher, now is director of programs at the Ohio Academy of Science.
“I am committed to understanding the needs/desires of my community and performing my elected duties with those needs/desires in mind … I recognize the importance of facilitating an environment in which our administrators and educators can do their job. I am well-acquainted with school policy at the state and local levels. It is this experience that allows me to appreciate that the role of the Board of Education is not to micromanage the classroom,” she said.
The district’s challenges include workforce training and career preparedness programs along with its strong collegiate success.
“Tipp City schools have done an excellent job creating the pathways in which our students can advance their technical careers, but we must do more. We can encourage students to take advantage of these opportunities by normalizing participation, training our school counselors to promote participation and identifying candidates,” she said.
David Moorhead
David Moorhead, 52, wants to help ensure a safe, stable environment is provided for district students and staff.
“I’m passionate about our schools and want to ensure every school in the district is the best it can be,” he said.
A Tipp City schools graduate, he is a civil servant with the Air Force with experience in policy making, financial management and supervision and has two children in the district.
Three district challenges he has heard about repeatedly include safety, building shortfalls and unnecessary tax increases, Moorhead said.
“Within the past year, safety incidents from gun threats to building safety have been issues within the district. As a board member I would ensure existing policy is enforced, adjust policy prudently to address a need and prioritize funding for safety concerns,” Moorhead said.
He would ensure the plan for consolidation of existing school buildings, if funding is approved, is complete, doesn’t create additional liabilities and doesn’t disrupt students before agreeing as a board member to move forward.
If a funding request would fail, he “would work with the other board members on alternative solutions to ensure a continued safe learning environment,” he said.
Kyle Thompson
Kyle Thompson said he is seeking a school board seat to “protect the parent’s voice, preserve educational excellence and pursue modernization while maintaining traditional values in the Tipp City community.”
Thompson, 38, CFO/Executive at Living Word Church, said he would bring with him to the board experience in business management, non-profit, finance and construction.
“I will bring a non-anxious presence to the board along with thoughtful, measured leadership. The community can expect to benefit from my commitment to parental choice, local control, academic excellence, rigorous standards and fiscal responsibility. I also look forward to enhancing the level of maturity and professionalism with which the board’s affairs are conducted,” Thompson said.
The top challenge facing the board is to re-establish trust with the community, he said.
“The board has been riddled in controversy and disfunction over the past 4 years and the community is displeased. Prioritizing first what is in the best interest of the student is a mandate. The board should be policy-driven, not personality-driven,” he said.
Another challenge is facilities, with funding especially for elementary level schools, a high priority, he said.
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