The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board will be welcoming two new members and one returning incumbent following the results of the Nov. 3 general election.
For the District 3 seat, newcomer Todd Grimes won with 14,148 votes (59.64%) while Michael Jamerson had 5,893 (24.84%) and incumbent James Persinger totaled 3,681 (15.52%).
Incumbent Pat Bryant kept the District 5 seat, winning with 12,726 votes (53.80%). Challenger Jennifer Corsi had 10,927 votes (46.20%).
The District 7 seat was won by Nicole Wheeldon with 14,202 votes (63.02%) while fellow newcomer Lacretia Ulery had 8,335 votes (36.98%). The seat is being vacated by current school board president Jeff Caldwell, who chose not to run for re-election.
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The District 3 winner, Grimes, 52, is a teacher at the Academy at Greenfield Central High School and the chief negotiator for the Greenfield Central Classroom Teachers’ Association. He plans to remain in that role.
As early voting results came in, and showed him to be in the lead, Grimes said he was “at a loss for words.”
“With two opponents, I fully expected a close race and had my fingers crossed,” he said. “…I never would’ve guessed this. And it’s a bit overwhelming.”
Grimes said he wanted to thank both Persinger and Jamerson “for a good race.”
He attributed his lead to family, friends, former students and others in the community who have spread the word about his candidacy. He also said that him being a “lifelong resident” of Columbus, a teacher with 30 years of experience and an “advocate” for teachers likely played a role in his success.
“It’s kind of a unique thing,” Grimes said. “There are not a lot of school boards across the state that have current, active teachers serving on them. There’s a lot of school boards that have retired teachers serving on them, but not current active teachers.”
Incumbent Persinger, 34, was elected to the board in 2016. He is an engineer at Arvin Sango, Inc.
When asked what advice he would give to his successor, Persinger said, “The point of being a representative is to listen to the people and take into account all the information that you get when you need to make a decision on something. But most importantly, remember that you’re representing a group of the community. So not to make the decision just for yourself, but representing what the people want from you.”
Persinger added that it has been an honor to represent District 3 and that he has enjoyed his time on the board. He wishes Grimes “all the best.”
The other District 3 candidate, Jamerson, 72, is retired and formerly served as the director of technology at BCSC. He is a chair, treasurer and board member at the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation.
District 5 winner and incumbent Bryant, 67, has served on the school board for 10 years. He is a former Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy and now serves as resource officer at the Bartholomew County Public Library.
Bryant said that his experience on the school board likely helped him win.
“I am looking forward to the next three years of serving, and hopefully we get some things accomplished that I would like to see us get accomplished; as far as the school corporation is concerned,” he said. “And I’m hoping that Jennifer will help me do stuff like that, come along and just speak to me and tell me, ‘Hey, here’s what I think. Here’s what I feel. Can you look into this?’”
Bryant’s opponent, Corsi, 36, is a stay-at-home mom who also serves as the president of the Clifty Creek Elementary Parent Teacher Organization and a board member of Learning Tree Preschool.
Bryant added that he’s open to input from anybody and that helping the kids “is what it’s all about.” He said that in regards to what he would like to achieve, he hopes to “clear up” BCSC’s policy regarding employee and board member communication and also get more minorities in teaching positions.
District 7 winner and newcomer Wheeldon, 40, is a plant manager at Cummins, Inc. She said that community involvement through her job may have helped her in the election.
“I get to interact with just hundreds and hundreds of people on a daily basis that know my name and have seen kind of how I do things, tackle problems, etc.,” she said.
Wheeldon said, in regards to being on the board, that she “just can’t wait to get started.”
She also complimented her opponent on being “very smart” and “well-ingrained in the community.” Ulery, 60, is an accountant who currently serves on the ABC-Stewart School board.
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Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board
District 3
Todd Grimes;14,148
Michael A. Jamerson;5,893
James Persinger;3,681
District 5
Pat Bryant;12,726
Jennifer Corsi;10,927
District 7
Lacretia Ulery;8,335
Nicole Wheeldon;14,202
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