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NEW BREMEN - New Bremen Local Schools district voters are set to choose four school board members from eight candidates vying for the seats in next month's general election.
The terms of four of the five current board members - Eric Dicke, Michele Bambauer, Michelle Busse and Suzanne Wells - expire at the end of the year. Dicke was the only incumbent who filed to run.
Dicke will appear on the general election ballot along with Casey Rammel, Kacie Anne Pape, Logan O'Neill, Scott McCollum, Maylani Maurer, Abbey Lang and Preston Carr. Dicke will appear in an uncontested race because he was elected to a two-year term when Scott Bertke was reelected to another four-year term in 2023 but then resigned and was appointed to an open seat on New Bremen Village Council. Dicke will serve through Dec. 31.
Carr
Carr, 37, is the inventory acquisition manager at TNT Auto in St. Marys. He has a bachelor's degree in sports management from Ohio University. He and his wife have three children.
He said he is running because he wants to serve his community.
"I want to be able to raise my kids in a good school district," he said. "(I) want the administration to feel like they are welcome and their decisions are in their best interest."
If elected, Carr said he would support the administration and is confident in its decisions to ultimately provide for the next generation.
He would prioritize education and ensuring students feel "strong about their decisions and know that they are going to be our future."
Lang
Lang, 40, is the voice of customer program manager at Midmark. She has a bachelor's degree in health sciences, geriatrics and dermatology from Ohio State University with a minor in public health. She and her husband have three children.
Lang said her children go to New Bremen Local Schools, following a family tradition of her and her mother attending the school.
She is running because she wants to serve her community.
"I thought that when we had the three who are currently on the school board stepping down, I thought it would be a great opportunity to step in and give back to the community (and) get more involved in the school that gave me and my family so much."
Her focus in running is to help maintain the relationships the board has with the district.
She also want to prioritize the district's academic excellence and the innovation it has maintained as one of the top schools in Ohio, stating she also wants to "continue to push and examine where we are falling short and then working closely with the staff that we have to maintain those areas."
If elected, Lang said she would pursue solidifying support for students, including access to quality education, mental health resources and various career pathways. She would also tighten family, teacher and community engagement by streamlining transparency.
Maurer
Maurer, 38, is a registered dental hygienist with anesthesia and expanded functions at Fort Loramie Dental Center. She has an associate degree in dental health sciences. She and her husband have four children.
She credits her children as her reason for running.
"They motivate and inspire me to not only be better for myself, but for my community," she said. "I want to make sure that if there's any way I can offer my services and my help to improve our community and our schools, I want to do that so our children can get the best education available and the administration, staff and teachers also feel like they're being supported."
Maurer said, if elected, she would pursue strengthening transparency, ensuring community members are heard.
"No matter where they stand on a certain issue, they can always come to me and feel like somebody's actually listening and feel like they have the support and respect to have their opinions heard," she said.
She said she is concerned with the state budget and potential cuts.
"I want to make sure that our schools are properly funded and that the students and the teachers have the resources that they require and deserve," she said.
She said she's not as concerned for the budget in place now, "but I know theres been a lot of talk about the government making certain cuts to education funding. I want to make sure all the services are there for the children. I have a son who's on an (education plan) and that's really important. I want to make sure that funding like that doesn't get cut for children who are in need of it," she said.
McCollum
McCollum, 38, is the manager of purchasing for the electronics team at Crown Equipment Corp. He attended New Bremen High School and has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Ohio State University and a master's degree in business administration from Wright State University. He and his wife have four kids.
He said he is running because he wants to give back to the community as a resident.
"I owe a lot of the education opportunity that I was given to the foundation that was laid for me at New Bremen," he said. "I have a passion to make sure that I'm able to give back to the community or potentially help and present the same opportunities for future generations that were presented to me."
McCollum said he doesn't have a particular agenda item in mind to pursue, but he has been closely monitoring some of the property tax initiatives that occur or could impact the school budget.
He said he thinks he is qualified to be elected a board member based on his job experience and community involvement initiatives.
"I do believe what I'm able to bring to the table though is the ability to understand these issues and approach then in a mild-mannered approach; it relates very closely to what I do at work today," he said. "I manage a team of individuals who do all the electronic purchasing for Crown. At our core, we are responsible for cost, financial impacts to the group, assessing risk and identifying risk, continuing to have back-up options and being able to see a big picture. Sometimes that takes understanding little aspects, but how it fits into the big picture, and that's something that I feel I excel at and that could be very beneficial in this role."
McCollum also said he is a 301 Club committee member, giving him experience to serve his community. The nonprofit organization supports the school's athletic boosters, Bremenfest, music boosters and the Cardinal Recreation Club.
O'Neill
O'Neill, 38, has a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from Bluffton University. He works at Chambers for Innovations and Clean Energy, a nonprofit, where he is the midwest regional director. He and his wife have three children.
He said he is running because he thinks his experiences have aided him in being a community support person.
"Having two kids currently in the school system with a third one coming up in a couple of years, I thought it a good opportunity for me to ensure that our schools are continuing to be strong for the future so that kids have a good quality education while they are going through the school system."
He spent six years running the Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce and four years in economic development running the Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council.
If elected, O'Neill said he doesn't have any strong policy positions, but wants to focus on retaining quality teachers who meet state regulations.
"The school has a mantra of 'protecting the nest,' and being a volunteer firefighter in the community, I want to make sure that we continue to protect what we have here in the village of New Bremen and New Bremen schools," he said.
He said he would like to maintain the district's healthy five-year forecast while noting that state factors could substantially affect the district. He also wants to continue the five-tsar rating the district received.
Pape
Pape, 39, has a bachelor's degree in nursing from Wright State University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Northwestern Ohio. She is the director of clinical services at Family Health Services of Darke County. She and her husband have three children.
She said she is running because of her kids.
"I am running for school board because I believe every child in our district deserves a high-quality education, not just in academics but in terms of safety, support and opportunities," she said. "I've seen both the potential and challenges in our schools and I just want to bring people together to ensure that we have the policies and the budget that reflect what students really need."
If elected, Pape said she would like to look into school-based health care.
"Where I work now, I have been part of setting that up for family health at Tri Village Schools," she said. "We started a school-based health clinic where we actually staff a physician's assistant to work in a clinic and see students, staff and their family members for needs. That way the student wouldn't have to leave the school to go to the doctor - they can just been seen right there at the school in a clinic. This would be if they need prescribed medication that the nurse at the school can't do."
She also wants to look at furthering the school's college credit plus programs and potentially expand extracurricular activities outside of sports.
Pape said she views student safety and corresponding policies as most important.
Rammel
Rammel, 38, has a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in sports administration from Wayne State University. She is a commercial underwriter at Celina Insurance Group. She and her husband have three children.
She said she is running because the stars aligned with her children being enrolled in the district.
"With all the boys in (school), it kind of makes sense to just give back a little bit, be involved and help the school make the best choices for the students and community members," she said.
If elected, she said she doesn't have any policies in mind, only that she would be there to decide issues on a case-by-case basis.
Above all, the children come first.
"I'm not sure that a school has specific initiatives or anything like that," Rammel said. "We're not necessarily changing anything. The school is great and we're actually really lucky and fortunate, but it's been a great board and helpful for the school. I want to continue that more than anything."
"Bottom line, I just feel like you have to always have the kids' interest first at heart and then make the decisions that feel best for the community as a whole."
