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CELINA - A crowded field of 11 candidates are running for three open seats on the Celina City Schools Board of Education in the Nov. 7 general election.
The top three vote-getters will replace school board members Bill Sell, Deb Guingrich and Barbara Vorhees, who chose not to seek reelection.
The candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Amanda Bruce is a 44-year-old restauranteur. Formerly working as a teacher for eight years, Bruce today owns The Bay and co-owns The Anchor, both in Celina.
She has three children and earned a bachelor's degree in education.
Bruce has never held public office.
"I think that my teaching experience as well as my parenting experience and my owning businesses qualifies me … also my desire to help our school system and building our community," she said.
Bruce said she's running in part because of her experience.
"I'm just very committed to building our community and strengthening our community, which I believe very much includes our school system," she said.
If elected, she would place an emphasis on effective communication.
"I don't think there are major changes that need to happen within the school system aside from just building the lines of communication between the community, the students, the staff, administration and the board," Bruce said.
She also would like to work on retaining students and teachers.
"I think there are multiple ways that that could be gone about," she said. "If I were to get on the board, those would be things that would be discussed with administration and the board and worked on from there."
Jon M. Clouse is a 69-year-old retired educator who today has a woodworking business and farm. He and his wife, Betty, have three children and four grandchildren.
Clouse has a bachelor's degree in industrial arts education from Ohio Northern University and a master's degree in educational administration from the University of Dayton.
He has never held public office but noted he was a Washington Township zoning inspector for five years.
Clouse cited his 40 years of teaching in five school districts as experience that qualifies him to serve on school board. He was a vocational supervisor for 15 years at Tri Star, where he also taught. Clouse said he earned supervisor and director certifications.
"I think my football coaching is a big help as far as working with people and parents and players," he said. "I was a bus driver in Spencerville for six years, so I understand the bus drivers, too."
Retired since 2013, Clouse said he found out how much he missed the school when his granddaughters became students.
"This summer there was a group of community people getting together trying to find good school board candidates and they urged me to get involved and I just felt like I was called," he said.
He said the district has an amazing opportunity with the new school building project, adding he wants to push positivity at all levels. He also wants to stem the loss of 350 students to other schools through open enrollment, saying if 100 of them could be brought back, it would provide over $700,000 in additional state funds.
"I think that I have a lot to offer, and I think because I am retired, I can … spend time at the schools and observe and talk to teachers and administration and get the communication improved," he said.
John Contreras is a 45-year-old safety manager of a construction company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He and his wife, Jen, have two children.
He's a 1997 graduate of Van Wert High School and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Wright State University 2006. Contreras served in the U.S. Army for six years.
He has never held public office.
Contreras believes his experience in safety management and his leadership abilities qualifies him to serve on the school board.
"We have about 400 to 500 people and the safety aspect of what I do requires a lot of leadership and a lot of decision making," he noted.
Simply put, Contreras said he truly wants to make a difference.
"I believe that as a community member with my experience I can really make a difference," he said, adding that in every decision he makes, he first seeks to understand others' perspectives. "And I think that as a school board member, going in with that … as my first thought can really lend to the community as a whole."
If elected, Contreras said he would seek to enhance communication across the district.
"I want to involve the community as much as possible," he said.
He also noted his wife has been a juvenile probation officer since he's known her, giving him a unique outlook on at-risk youth.
"I have zero agenda. I'm not going into this to make sweeping changes," he said. "I'm a strong believer in helping others and hopefully I can do that on a large scale."
Stacy Evers is a 40-year-old school psychologist at St. Marys City Schools. She and her husband, Josh, have three children.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and anthropology, a teaching license for secondary social studies and a master's degree in school psychology.
Evers has never held public office.
"I think I have an extensive background in school policy, procedure and law," she said. "I know that that first year (on the school board) is a learning curve, but I think that learning curve for me is not going to be as steep."
Evers said she is running because Celina needs change, pointing to low teacher morale and loss of students through open enrollment. If elected, she said she would communicate effectively about what's going on in the district and speak on behalf of different facets and people.
Describing herself as a good listener, hard worker and problem solver with a desire to do what's best for the community, Evers said major change is at hand with three new school board members and a new superintendent soon to join the district.
"We have to have a new vision," she said.
She also noted the school board race is nonpartisan.
"There's a reason for that and it needs to be balanced and our board needs to be balanced," she said. "We need be balanced decision makers and effective communicators."
Tim Homan is a 30-year-old production planner with Crown Equipment Corporation in Celina. He and his wife, Haley, have two children.
He has an associate degree in business administration from Wright State University-Lake Campus.
He has never held public office.
"I am a concerned citizen who really is trying to make a difference not only in the community but in the world itself and that takes getting involved, really diving in, educating myself, listening to everyone and striving for the best intentions for everyone, especially those in the school, staff, students," he said.
Homan said he is running because on the local, state and national level, good leaders with no agendas and no political ideology are needed to stand up and make decisions.
If elected he said he would focus on fostering transparency to make sure taxpayers know how their money is being spent. He also said he would work to ensure a safe environment and that the school building project goes well.
"We need to just raise the standard for Celina schools," he said. "Right now we have so many kids, for whatever reason, they're leaving. We just need to make sure that everything we do is really bringing everybody on board and making them want to be a Celina Bulldog."
Andrea Kuehne is a 49-year-old corporate recruitment and development manager at Cooper Farms. She and her husband, Jay, have four children.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and English from Valparaiso University.
She has never held public office.
Kuehne believes she has a broad range of experiences in both nonprofit work and business that qualifies her to serve on the board. She worked at St. John Lutheran Church as an administrator where she played a role in the budget process and worked with many different people and personalities.
"I just feel like we're at a really critical time because of the levy and the building project and we've kind of reached a fevered pitch of some polarity of opinion," she said.
The district needs clear communication and the ability to adapt to changing demographics, said said.
"We need to be able to respond to that just like we're dong in the business world," she said. "Because I've seen how we've done that at Cooper Farms. I also feel like we can use some of those same tactics in the school system to make Celina a better school system and community because of it."
She said probably her No. 1 focus would be communication.
"Just because regardless of the situation and the severity of it, the community needs to know what's going on, aside from the things that have to be confidential," Kuehne said.
Kuehne said she wants to be part of a dynamic board that handles people well and employs conflict resolution. Also, teachers and administrators don't always have time to publicize the good work they're doing, so the board should relay those stories to the public, she said.
Ashleigh Lantz is a 39-year-old stay-at-home mom. She and her husband, Brian, have two children,
After graduating from Celina High School in 2002, she studied medical administration at Wright State University-Lake Campus.
She has never held public office.
Asked what experience she has that qualifies her to serve on the school board, Lantz cited her past employment with Grand Lake Foot and Ankle Center where she worked with revenue and insurance claims and managed staff.
She also had managed an automotive program at Pax Machine Works.
"I'm running for my children and the children of the community and just recognizing that there needs to be some change," she said. "We have a good school system but I think we just kind of steered off track a little bit."
Lantz said she has already made positive changes by voicing the concerns of parents and students to the school board, advocacy which she said was taken seriously and led to the placement of a dean of students this year.
"The middle school, unfortunately, went through a tough time back in the winter of 2023. It's nothing different than what other schools face all across the nation with vaping and drugs and fighting," she said.
Lantz said she wants to take the next step by becoming a school board member who would help reestablish trust with the community by understanding and addressing all viewpoints.
"Being able to listen to parents and really, fully understanding what their concerns are when it comes to their children or just the daily environment that they go to school in or their curriculum or anything like that is just something that I've taken upon myself to just really start getting involved," she said.
Tiffany McKirnan is a 41-year-old physician assistant at Lima Memorial Hospital. She and her husband, Tod, have four children.
She has a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology and athletic training from the Ohio State University and a master's degree in medical science and physician studies from Midwestern University.
She has never held public office.
Asked what experience she has that qualifies her to serve on the school board, McKirnan said she is a voting member and parent of children in the school district.
"I am running because I want to be involved in my community and involved in the school system that my children attend," she said. "There have been some contents with the curriculum that my husband and I have come across over the last two years that we have deemed to be not appropriate for children of the elementary school age, and so I just found that parents need to get involved in our school systems."
She believes school board members must collaborate with teachers and parents to make the school the best they can for students. McKirnan also wants to see an active principal advisory curriculum committee be front and center.
"I am unaware if one exists or who the names of the people are who are on one," she said. "That needs to play a larger role in what our students are learning as far as our English language arts curriculum goes."
McKirnan said with everything happening nationally and "even within our area of the state," a lot of potential social issues could crop up in the community. It's important that school board members represent the best interests of children and respect parental involvement, she said.
Jessica Rolfes is a 43-year-old sixth-grade teacher at Allen East Middle School. She and her husband, Toby, have two children.
She has a bachelor's degree in middle childhood education from the University of Findlay and a master's degree in divergent learning from Columbia College.
She has never held public office.
Rolfes believes her experience working as a teacher for 22 years qualifies her to serve on the school board. During that time she has held many positions, including team leader, head of the social studies department, coach, mentor and advisor to several clubs and organizations.
Additionally, she said she's been an organizer and financial advisor of field trips and served on boards that hired administrators and staff.
"I absolutely love education. I love everything about education. I love anything concerning educational trends and policies and teachers and students," she said when asked why she's running for office.
Rolfes also finds herself at a point in her life where she has the time to dedicate to the school board.
"I feel like I have had a wonderful opportunity in the past six years to really get my feet wet in the district," she said. "I have really fallen in love with the district. I've really gotten to know a lot of the teachers, the administrators. I have gotten a really good grasp on how things are organized and how things are run and I just really want to be a part of the district in a positive way."
Rolfes believes it's extremely important to have someone with a background in education on the school board to bring a teacher's insights and perspectives.
Adam Schleucher is a 40-year-old farmer who is also involved in sales. He and his wife, Molli, have a son.
He graduated from Celina High School in 2001 and has a bachelor's degree in accounting and marketing from Wilmington College.
He has never held public office.
Schleucher believes his business background, including being managing partner of a large farming operation and running a multi-state insurance agency, qualifies him to serve on the school board.
"I think I can help," Schleucher said when asked why he's running for office. "Celina schools are at that pivotal point and we have an opportunity with three open board seats to change the direction of Celina … I think we can earn back the trust of the community, and we also can become partners again with our school staff and work together."
Also, Schleucher said by enhancing students' education, the school board can make Celina "a powerhouse."
Julie Sommer is a 60-year-old fifth grade teacher at Marion Local Schools. She and her husband, Tom, have three children.
Sommer has a master's degree in education from Wright State University.
She has never held public office.
Sommer believes her experience in public education and in the private sector qualifies her to serve on the school board. As the co-owner of Hair To Please for 14 years, Sommer said she comprehends money issues, the importance of schools in the community and the need to keep the economy going.
As an educator, Sommer said she understands the state school report card and the ins and outs of schools.
"I feel it's time for me to give back to the community. My family has benefited greatly from being in Celina and Celina City Schools," she said, noting all of her children graduated from Celina High School and went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees because of their foundation education.
Sommer said she met with the curriculum director and learned about the lofty goals the district has set for raising state test scores. She would like to add momentum to that progress.
Additionally, Sommer said she wants to ensure the new school buildings are carried out as presented to voters and properly staffed and that bussing is adequately addressed.
