Chelsea Alkire

This candidate is participating in a 2025 battleground election. Click here to read more about that election.

Chelsea Alkire

Nonpartisan

Candidate, South-Western City Schools Board of Education At-large

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Bowling Green State University, 2012

Graduate

Ohio Dominican University, 2015

Personal

Birthplace

Columbus, Ohio

Profession

Educator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Chelsea Alkire is running for election for an at-large seat of the South-Western City Schools Board of Education in Ohio. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Alkire completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

2025 battleground election

See also: South-Western City Schools, Ohio, elections (2025)

Ballotpedia identified the November 4, 2025, nonpartisan general election as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Six candidates are running in the nonpartisan general election for three at-large seats on the five-member South-Western City Schools Board of Education on Nov. 4, 2025. The three candidates who receive the most votes will serve four-year terms on the board. Incumbents Camille Peterson and Chris Boso are running for re-election, while incumbent Kelli Martindale is not running for re-election.

The six candidates are running on two separate slates. Although the board is officially nonpartisan, the governing control of the board is at stake. The Franklin County Republican Party endorsed four of the five members of the board (Peterson is the exception) in previous elections. Both local Democrats and Republicans have endorsed opposing slates.

Boso, Steve Feucht, and Jason Gocha are running on one slate. Boso was elected to the board in 2021 and serves as the board’s president. Feucht works as a consultant, and Gocha works in logistics management. The Franklin County Republican Party endorsed this slate.

Peterson, Chelsea Alkire, and Kelly Dillon are running on another slate. Peterson was appointed to the board in 2023 after the resignation of Cathy Johnson. Alkire and Dillon both work as educators. The Franklin County Democratic Party endorsed this slate.

This election is taking place against the backdrop of contract negotiations between the board and the district’s educators’ union, the South-Western Education Association (SWEA). According to The Columbus Dispatch’s Anna Lynn Winfrey, “[SWEA spokesperson Emmalee] Harding said that the negotiating teams needed to bring in a mediator for the first time since 2013, at the expense of the union and the district, because both sides were having a hard time finding common ground.”

On July 10, 2025, the board and SWEA approved a new contract during their respective meetings. According to NBC4‘s Katie Millard, that day Harding released a statement on behalf of the union in which she “alleged the board ‘attacked’ important parts of the contract and thanked community members for helping SWEA ‘fight off’ the board’s changes. Within hours, Boso read Harding’s words aloud at a board meeting and voiced frustration with the union’s leadership.”

A second board member, Julie Liskany, also commented on the statement during the meeting. Millard wrote that in response, SWEA filed “an unfair labor practice charge with the state. The union alleges Boso and Liskany were trying to discourage SWEA members from similar union contract negotiations in the future, which the union interpreted as an attempt to inhibit union activity. Ohio law prohibits employers from interfering with union business.”

Elections

2025

See also: South-Western City Schools, Ohio, elections (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for South-Western City Schools Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for South-Western City Schools Board of Education At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Chris Boso (Nonpartisan)
		Camille Peterson (Nonpartisan)
		Chelsea Alkire (Nonpartisan)
		Kelly Dillon (Nonpartisan)
		Steve Feucht (Nonpartisan)
		Jason Gocha (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

Alkire received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• Central Ohio Labor Council
• South-Western Education Association
• Democratic Municipal Officials
• Gahanna Democrats and Friends
• Matriots PAC
• Run for Something
• The Oath of Office

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chelsea Alkire completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Alkire's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a mom, volunteer, and educator. I have worked in schools for 13 years, including 9 years in SWCS. I have been a PTA member at FInland MS, Glendening Elementary School, and Franklin Heights High School. I have coached sports, been an advisor for Link Crew, and I work hard to support as many students as I can. I teach English Language Learners, and I truly love what I do.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Students within the district are eligible, therefore deserve to receive free lunch and breakfast. We are a large district, and we need to make sure our students' basic needs are being met so they are able to have success in the classroom.
• All schools should be able to have the same opportunities across the district. Although it is a fairly large district, we are able to offer opportunities to all districts.
• The district must guarantee that all stakeholders are being heard and have a voice. This means we need to listen to students, parents, transportation, community members, etc. We have to listen to anyone that has an impact on the future of our district and community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Free and Reduced lunch for students, equitable support and services for LEP students and students with exceptionalities, and child and family support.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected officials should provide transparency in their decision making. They should support all students within the district. Elected officials swear to an oath, and it is their duty to maintain that oath.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first major historical event that I remember in detail, was September 11, 2001. I was in my 5th grade Math class, with Mr. Hudak. I remember the TVs that were screwed into the corners of the room being turned on, and the classes just... stopped. The feeling of not knowing what was going on, and the fear of adults that I trusted, was enough to permanently seal in this horrific event into my memory.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was when I was a senior in high school (Marion Franklin High School), and I worked at Sears Portrait Studio at Eastland Mall-- which is now long gone! I worked there for almost a year.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book of all time is Holes, by Louis Sachar. I love how the book has flashbacks into the history of the Yelnats family, and the book and the movie are so extremely similar that the movie feels like I am reading the book again. I love quoting the book, and it allows critical thinking on themes such as justice, fate, and social inequality.

Who are your constituents?

The constituents are everyone that live within--and work within--the 119 square miles of the district. This includes students, parents, business owners, teachers, and elderly community.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I would love to hold town halls throughout the district, offering them within the spaces of the attendance zones. I know a lot of parents either struggle with working hours that aren't conducive to the "usual" meeting times, so I would try to make the town halls available to the stakeholders that need to be there.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

the Matriots, Run for Something, South Western Education Association, the Oath of Office

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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South-Western City Schools Board of Education At-large

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