School boards in Bartholomew County will have new faces starting next year. One incumbent each at both Bartholomew Consolidated and Flat Rock-Hawcreek school corporations have indicated they won’t be seeking re-election.
Bob Abrams, a retired Cummins executive, will not seek reelection to his BCSC District 4 seat in the Nov. 6 general election.
Abrams has served two stints on the BCSC board. The first time was in 2008, when he was elected to a four-year term. Abrams returned in 2011 when he was appointed to the board to fill a vacancy. Abrams was elected to a four-year term in 2014.
Julie Bilz, an associate professor at Ivy Tech Community College, has filed to run for the seat being vacated by Abrams. Bilz holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction with a specialty in teacher education.
The District 4 seat is one of four on the BCSC board up for election this year. The others are Districts 1, 2 and 6.
Incumbents Richard A. Stenner, Jr. in District 2 and Kathy Dayhoff-Dwyer in District 6 have filed for reelection.
Stenner, a health care executive in Columbus, has served on the BCSC board since 2010.
Dayhoff-Dwyer, an emergency medical technician who has also worked in emergency management, was appointed to the board in 2008 to fill a vacancy and ran unopposed in 2010 and 2014.
A third incumbent, Jill Shedd who represents District 1, had not yet filed for reelection as of Friday.
The District 3, 5 and 7 seats on the BCSC board will be up for reelection in 2020.
Flat Rock-Hawcreek
Andy Hunnicutt, a Flat Rock-Hawcreek board member representing Flat Rock Township, also will not seek reelection. Hunnicutt, a construction estimator, served two terms on the board. His is one of three FRHC seats up for election.
Chad Miller, the owner of a residential construction company, has filed to fill the Flat Rock Township board position that Hunnicutt is relinquishing. Miller, a 2001 Hauser High School graduate, is the parent of children in the Hope-based school district.
Two other board incumbents, John Harker and Pat Walters, have filed for reelection.
Harker, who represents Hawcreek Township, was elected to the board four years ago after a 10-year absence. The Hope dentist had previously served on the school board for 20 years.
Walters, an at-large member, was elected to his first term in 2014.
Walters left Cummins Inc. a year ago to teach industrial technology and advanced manufacturing at Ivy Tech.
Two other FRHC board seats will be up for reelection in 2020.
Filing for school board races across the state opened July 25 and go through noon Aug. 24.
