Three members of the Seymour Community School Corp. board of education have earned another four years in their seats, while a new person will join at the start of 2023.
In Tuesday’s general election, incumbents John Kelley, Max Klosterman and Joe Tormoehlen and newcomer Holly Coates were selected to serve on the seven-member board.
Kelley won the Redding Township representative race with 4,408 votes (80.26%), compared to Carl Kuhlman receiving 1,084 votes (19.74%).
Klosterman won the Washington Township representative race with 3,460 votes (60.58%), compared to Ryon Wheeler earning 2,251 votes (39.42%).
Finally, Tormoehlen and Coates were the top two vote-getters in the at-large race with 3,609 (38.47%) and 3,116 (33.21%) votes, respectively. Incumbent Nancy Franke was third with 2,657 votes (28.32%).
This will be Kelley’s third term on the board.
“I’m very excited about being able to serve and give back to the community and the school system for another four years,” he said Tuesday night. “There has been a lot of influential people in the school system that have given to me a lot of stuff throughout my lifetime and my career, and I just want to give a portion of that back.”
Most of all, he wanted to thank voters and said he appreciated the excellent turnout.
“It means a lot to me personally in the fact that I can serve in a role to help the children and be a positive voice for our children,” Kelley said.
Klosterman said he has served on the board for nearly 20 years, and he’s excited to earn another four.
“It means a lot to me. I feel like they know my heart is in it,” he said. “A lot of people that voted for me know me, I feel. They know I care a lot about kids, and that’s what it’s all about.”
In his position, Klosterman said he tries to do what’s best for the school system while working for the taxpayers and not raising taxes any more than absolutely necessary.
Currently, the ongoing construction projects at the corporation’s buildings, including Seymour High School and the Seymour Middle School Sixth Grade Center, will continue to be a big focus moving forward.
During Tuesday night’s board meeting, Klosterman said discussion about a project to add onto Margaret R. Brown Elementary School began, so that will be another big endeavor.
Klosterman thanked those who voted for him and said he will do his best to continue representing the corporation.
“We just have a very good, diverse board to represent everybody, all aspects of the situation of the community,” he said.
Coates said this was her first time running for an election, and she was happy with the results.
“I’m excited that a lot of people came out today in Seymour and voted. They came out in big numbers,” she said. “I’m excited to serve on the board. I’m excited to make a difference and serve the kids and teachers in our community.”
Going in knowing several of the board members, Coates said she feels they have a good relationship, and she hopes they will work together to make great decisions for the corporation.
“I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “All of the support throughout this campaign, words of encouragement people have given me, putting my signs out, I really appreciate it. I love Seymour. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m just happy that people gave me a chance to serve.”