2025 ELECTION ROUNDUP: Highland County voters weigh in on several contested school board races
Highland County voters elected representatives to local boards of education in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 general election, with a rematch of current and former board members in Greenfield as well as a contested race for the Fairfield Local board.
Greenfield Exempted Village Schools, current board members Rachel Fraley, Marilyn Mitchell and Eric Zint were challenged by former board president Charley Roman, who was voted out in 2021. This year, Roman was unofficially reelected, with longtime board member Mitchell unofficially ousted.
Unofficial results show Zint receiving the highest vote total in all three counties (Highland, Fayette and Ross), as he had a cumulative unofficial total of 1,389 votes. Fraley followed with the second-highest total in all three counties, earning 1,239 unofficially. Next, Roman was third in all three counties, receiving an unofficial 1,073 votes. Mitchell was fourth with 966.
The Fairfield Local race saw current board member Matt Jackson elected with an unofficial 264 votes in Highland and Clinton counties, while newcomer Caleb Worley was unofficially elected with 246 votes, unofficially. Worley will replace current longtime board member Dr. Rindy Matthews, who was unofficially defeated after receiving an unofficial 165 votes as a write-in candidate.
The other three county school districts had current board members reelected, as they all ran unopposed. Those candidates include Hillsboro City Schools board members Larry Lyons, Beverly Rhoads and Jerry Walker; Bright Local board members Steven Cox and Angela Wright; and Lynchburg-Clay Local board members Susan Blankenship and Richard Warner.
Along with the five Highland County districts, voters in parts of the county participated in elections for several other board races, where additional incumbent candidates were unofficially voted out of office.
For the Adams County Ohio Valley SD School Board, unofficial results show both incumbent candidates voted out of office, as current board members Robin Lucas and Gay Lynn Shipley faced challengers Trent Arey, Benjamin Hilderbrand, Paula McIntosh and Timothy Morrison. (Current board member Tiffany Demint did not seek reelection.)
According to unofficial results from Adams and Highland counties, McIntosh led with 2,077 votes, followed by Arey with 2,070 and Hilderbrand with 1,660, as the top three vote-getters will be elected. Other unofficial totals included Shipley with 1,557; Lucas with 1,461; and Morrison with 931.
The lone current board member running for the East Clinton Local School District board, Kelli Debold Jamison, unofficially received the fewest votes with 429, as Clinton and Highland County voters unofficially elected Matthew Terrell (851 votes) and Terri Barton (801 votes). Along with Jamison, the ballot included Greg Bronner (666 votes, unofficially).
Also for the East Clinton board, appointees Brad Woodruff and Amy Zimmerman were elected to fulfill the unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2027, as all five seats on the EC board were on the ballot this November.
The Miami Trace board will have two new members, with incumbent Jacklyn Farrens and candidates Steven Armstrong and Shawn R. Grooms unofficially collecting the three highest vote total and defeating challenger and write-in candidate Mark Haldeman. Farrens had a cumulative 1,302 votes among Highland, Fayette, Madison and Pickaway counties, followed by Armstrong with 1,214 and Grooms with 914, unofficially. Haldeman unofficially had 285 votes.
Current Fayetteville-Perry board members Merri Kay Adkins and Rachel Ray were opposed by Joy King. Although no Clinton or Highland County voters turned out, unofficial results from Brown County show Adkins unofficially reelected with 515 votes and the newcomer King (411 votes) unofficially ousting incumbent Ray (366 votes).
In uncontested races, James Castle, Greg Haitz and Marty Paeltz were elected to the Governing Board of the Brown County Educational Service Center, while incumbents Debbie Forsythe and Edmund McVey were reelected to the Eastern LSD School Board.
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 26 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.