Kelly Dillon

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

Kelly Dillon

Nonpartisan

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

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

High school

North Babylon High School

Bachelor's

Kenyon College, 2000

Graduate

Union Institute and University, 2003

Ph.D

The Ohio State University, 2016

Personal

Birthplace

Islip, N.Y.

Religion

Roman Catholic

Profession

Professor

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Kelly Dillon 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]

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

Biography

Kelly Dillon was born in Islip, New York. She earned a high school diploma from North Babylon High School, a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in 2000, a graduate degree from Union Institute and University in 2003, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 2016. Dillon's career experience includes working as a professor and in research management/support. As of 2025, Dillon was affiliated with the Democratic Party, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Organization for Women.

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.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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

• Central Ohio Labor Council
• Gahanna Democrats and Friends
• Matriots PAC

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in our district for over 20yrs, have 2 children in our schools, and am a proud product of public schools. I joined this race to keep PUBLIC dollars in PUBLIC schools, to increase transparency and communications with our community, and to make sure every child gets the opportunity for a quality education. I'm a mom, wife, educator, and strong advocate for our students, teachers, and community.

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?

• PUBLIC dollars for PUBLIC schools. Our district should be at the front lines of fighting for OUR dollars to remain in OUR public schools. Vouchers have a place in K-12 education as not every learner thrives in the traditional classroom. These should be need based, rare, and held to the same standards as our public schools and teachers. SWCS needs to rejoin the lawsuit against vouchers and fight hard every day in our statehouse to force our legislators for a FAIR FUNDING and CONSTITUTIONAL formula.
• Transparency in district decisions and discussions. We do not need to pay $9,000 per month to a lawyer to obfuscate open meetings. Unless otherwise legally bound, our board should have discussions and policy questions out in the open during meetings. If regular meetings do not suffice in time or audience, the board should have town halls, listening sessions, and release data on contacts and issues. Compromise, conversation, and civility can happen in the open. It's time we have that option.
• Learners of all types have equal opportunities to thrive. Our district covers over 119 square miles including over 21,000 students and hundreds of small neighborhoods - urban, rural, and suburban. It is time each school has opportunities for students to thrive, discover, and build key skills. There is no reason why a school in a Columbus city zip code doesn't have the same clubs, classes, or leadership as one in a Grove City neighborhood. Our diversity of cultures and environments in our district is our STRENGTH. Let's tap into that diversity, learn from each other, and help shape our children for a global economy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Proper and fair funding of schools, inclusion and celebration of a variety of viewpoints and experiences, equal opportunities for all learners regardless of zip code, ability, or socioeconomic status.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father. He sometimes had 3 or 4 jobs when I was growing up to make sure we had food on our table (a family of 6) and keeping our lights on. He loves my mother fiercely and helped show respect and honor in a relationship. My dad taught us family is first and foremost, and you can make do with whatever you have in your hands. He worked 2 jobs while going to school at night. He started in the shop making eyeglasses and retired as VP of Contracts. He's still the smartest person I know, and if I can make him proud, I know I've lived well.

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

Ethical communication, strong interpersonal skills, ability to compromise.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Good stewards of school funding, advocating for fair funding from the state, open communication with and to the community, equitable hiring and alignment with national organizations

What legacy would you like to leave?

I left the world better than I found it and I was kind to as many people as I could be.

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

I remember vividly the Challenger explosion in 1986. Every student's eyes were glued to the screen, including me and my 3rd grade friends. My family has a special connection to the space program - my grandfather helped design the first LEM, my dad worked at Grumman and helped with the ISS. It's a core media memory and President Reagan's speeches that night and days afterwards still remain in my heart.

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

At age 12 I was hired to stuff advertisements into a free paper. I had 231 houses and got paid $15 a week! I kept that job until I could buy a bike ($250). Then I started babysitting until I could get a work permit.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Phantom Tollbooth. At its core is a celebration and love of learning. Learning and curiosity are my oxygen. I've been obsessed with learning as much as I can for as long as I can remember. In the Phantom Tollbooth, Milo travels to the Kingdom of Knowledge. He encounters different characters that help him learn to be still, take him to the land of Reason and Digitapolis. It's filled with lots of puns, clever ways to acquire knowledge, all through the eyes of a child. Milo, before he goes through the tollbooth, is bored with school and traditional ways of learning. The tollbooth excursion helps him find different way to learn. I try to incorporate this into my own teaching - trying to reach each learner where they are and to try and find different ways to create that spark.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

CJ Cregg, the Press Secretary played by Allison Janey in The West Wing. The individuals she works with are ridiculously smart, clever, and are trying their best to make the country a better place for as many people as possible. CJ interacts with the media and while sometimes adversarial, have a dynamic relationship. She has a great sense of humor, treats her staff well, and fights for what is right in her heart.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Worrying what other people think of me. Whether it's my appearance, my grades, my teaching, or even my parenting. I know in *theory* I shouldn't compare myself to others' highlight reels, but it's very hard.

Candidates hear many personal stories from voters. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching or memorable?

A mother recently approached me telling me how grateful she was that I decided to run. Her child struggles with reading and has an IEP. She was incredibly hurt and insulted when our school board decided to join an organization who perceives differently abled students as a drain on resources. She's afraid if things continue going in the direction they are with our board, and with those who are trying to get on the board, then only those who are "perfect" learners and from the affluent parts of our district will get a good education. No parent should ever think because their child is different in someway they would be discriminated against or left behind. It's those kids I want to fight for, no matter if I'm on the board or holding our elected officials responsible.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

Earning my doctorate. My first day of graduate school was my youngest's second birthday, my husband's first day on third shift, and I felt I was completely over my head. I had no experience in communication whatsoever, and I found out my application was one of the most controversial acceptances in a while. I thought I was sunk - I quit a great job in the last years of a recession with a mortgage and family to chase a dream I never knew I really had. But I found out my older age compared to the other students was an advantage. I knew how to balance my time, how graduate school worked (I had been in medical and graduate school research support), and what was at stake. My organization skills meant I was able to recruit, train, and supervise 2 dozen undergraduate lab assistants, teach, AND run an NSF grant besides my own research. My children grew up watching their mom figure out how to manage it, and were old enough to know what it meant when I walked across the stage and receive my hood, tam, and degree.

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.

See also

2025 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

South-Western City Schools Board of Education At-large

Facebook

Personal

LinkedIn