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Ohio State Board of Education
| Ohio State Board of Education | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Nonpartisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $15,300,000 |
| Total Seats: | 19 |
| Term limits: | Two consecutive terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Ohio Constitution, Article VI, Section 4 |
| Selection Method: | 11 elected, 8 appointed |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
| Mary Binegar, Sara Carruthers, Walt Davis, Teresa Fedor, Cathye Flory, Delores Ford, Amy Fugate, John Hagan, Katie Hofmann, Tom Jackson, Rhonda Johnson, Lori Kershner, Paul LaRue, Mark Lamoncha, Karen Lloyd, Charlotte McGuire, James Mermis, Kristie Reighard, Gloria Rodgers | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | 2026 |
| Last election: | 2024 |
| Other Ohio Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission | |
The Ohio State Board of Education is an elected executive agency of the Ohio state government, responsible for managing the state's public K-12 education.[1]
On January 31, 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced new district boundaries for the Ohio State Board of Education as part of Ohio’s redistricting after the 2020 census. To view the full announcement, click here.
Current officeholders
The board is composed of 19 members. Of those, 11 are elected to four-year terms in all even-numbered years by voters in each of the state's 11 education districts, which are made up of three contiguous senatorial districts. Elections to the board for district seats are staggered in even-numbered years. The remaining eight members are appointed to four-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. They are meant to represent the state at large. Every two years, the board selects a president and vice president from among its members.[2][3]
Authority
The Ohio State Board of Education derives its authority from Article VI, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution, which was first written in 1912 and last amended in 1953.[4]
Ohio Constitution, Article VI, Section 4:
| There shall be a state board of education which shall be selected in such manner and for such terms as shall be provided by law. There shall be a superintendent of public instruction, who shall be appointed by the state board of education. The respective powers and duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law. |
Qualifications
Qualifications for serving on the Ohio State Board of Education are laid out in Section 3301.03 of the Ohio Revised Code. Board members must be registered voters living in Ohio. Appointed members must live in the education district they represent. At all times, at least four of the eight appointed members of the board must represent rural school districts. In order for a member to represent a rural school district, they must live in a rural area as well as either have children who have attended rural schools, have a professional connection to the rural areas of the state, or be able to demonstrate a connection to the rural parts of the state. In addition, members of the board may not also hold an elected or appointed government position or be an employee of a school during their time on the board.[5]
Section 3301.03 (partial):
| Each elected voting member of the state board of education shall be a qualified elector residing in the territory composing the district from which the member is elected, and shall be nominated and elected to office as provided by Title XXXV of the Revised Code. Each appointed voting member of the board shall be a qualified elector residing in the state. At least four of the appointed voting members shall represent rural school districts in the state, as evidenced by the member's current place of residence and at least one of the following:
(A) The member's children attend, or at one time attended, school in a rural district; (B) The member's past or present occupation is associated with rural areas of the state; (C) The member possesses other credentials or experience demonstrating knowledge and familiarity with rural school districts. No elected or appointed voting member of the board shall, during the member's term of office, hold any other office of trust or profit or be an employee or officer of any public or private elementary or secondary school. Before entering on the duties of office, each elected and appointed voting member shall subscribe to the official oath of office. |
Elections
Elections to the Ohio State Board of Education are held in every even-numbered year. Members take office on the first day of January in the year following their election.
Term limits
Term limits to the Ohio State Board of Education are laid out in Section 3301.02D of the Ohio Revised Code. It specifies that members are not permitted to serve more than two consecutive four-year terms.[6]
Section 3301.02D:
| No person, elected or appointed, shall hold the office of member of the state board of education for a period of longer than two successive terms of four years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1996, shall be considered in determining an individual's eligibility to hold office. |
2024
District 1
General election candidates
- Kristie Reighard (Nonpartisan) ✔
District 5
General election candidates
- Mary Binegar (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Hava Laudon (Nonpartisan)
District 6
General election candidates
- David Donofrio (Nonpartisan)
- Cathye Flory (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Chris Orban (Nonpartisan)
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
District 9
General election candidates
- Jessica Goeller (Nonpartisan)
- Rhonda Johnson (Nonpartisan) ✔
Did not make the ballot:
- Sudi Abdi Mohamud (Nonpartisan)
District 10
General election candidates
- Karen Lloyd (Nonpartisan) ✔
District 11
General election candidates
- Delores Ford (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Jennie Kelley-Crosby (Nonpartisan)
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
2022
District 2
General election candidates
- Teresa Fedor (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Sarah McGervey (Nonpartisan)
District 3
General election candidates
- Charlotte McGuire (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
Did not make the ballot:
- Michael King (Nonpartisan)
District 4
General election candidates
- Jenny Kilgore (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan)
- Katie Hofmann (Nonpartisan) ✔
District 9
General election candidates
- John Hagan (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Robert Fulton (Nonpartisan)
District 10
General election candidates
- Tim Miller (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan)
- Tom Jackson (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Cierra Lynch Shehorn (Nonpartisan)
2020
District 1
General election candidates
- Diana Fessler (Nonpartisan) ✔
District 5
General election candidates
- Lisa Woods (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan)
- Christina Collins (Nonpartisan) ✔
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
District 6
General election candidates
- Antoinette Miranda (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Alice Nicks (Nonpartisan)
District 9
General election candidates
- Ron Hood (Nonpartisan)
- Michelle Newman (Nonpartisan) ✔
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
District 10
General election candidates
- Mary Binegar (Nonpartisan)
- Brendan Shea (Nonpartisan) ✔
District 11
General election candidates
- Meryl Johnson (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Michele Elba (Nonpartisan)
- Richard Neale (Nonpartisan)
Did not make the ballot:
- Jedi Hill (Nonpartisan)
Past elections
Note: Due to the lack of historical officeholder information, incumbency information may be unavailable for special elections to this office and elections before 2006.
Vacancies
The procedure for filling vacancies on the Ohio State Board of Education is laid out in Section 3301.06 of the Ohio Revised Code. In the case of a vacancy in one of the board's elected seats, the governor appoints an interim board member residing in the district represented by the former board member, who must be confirmed by the state Senate. The interim board member serves until the next general election, when a permanent replacement is elected to fill out the remainder of the term. In the case of a vacancy in one of the board's appointed seats, the governor appoints a new board member, who must be confirmed by the state Senate. The appointee fills the remainder of the former board member's term.[7]
Section 3301.06:
| A vacancy in the state board of education may be caused by death, nonresidence, resignation, removal from office, failure of a person elected to qualify within ten days after the organization of the board or of the person's election, removal from the district of election or from residence in the state, or absence from any two consecutive regular meetings of the board if such absence is caused by reasons declared insufficient by a vote of twelve members of the board. When a vacancy occurs in the office of an elected member, the governor shall, within a period of thirty days and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint a qualified person residing in the district in which the vacancy occurred to fill the vacancy until the next general election at which members of the state board of education are elected, at which time a qualified elector residing in the district in which the vacancy occurred shall be elected for the unexpired term. Such member shall assume office at the next succeeding meeting of the board. When a vacancy occurs in the office of an appointed member, the governor shall, within a period of thirty days and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint a qualified person to serve the remainder of the term. |
Duties
The Ohio State Board of Education is charged by Article VI, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution with appointing the state superintendent. Other duties of the board are laid out in Section 3301.07 of the Ohio Revised Code. These include developing education policy and goals for the state's public schools, establishing educational, operational, and financial standards, and implementing specific educational programs.[8]
Divisions
- Updated January 27, 2021
There are six committees with specific areas of responsibility on the Ohio State Board of Education.[9] They are:
- Assessment and Accountability Committee
- Continuous Improvement Committee
- Drop Out Prevention and Recovery Workgroup
- Executive Committee
- Integrated Student Supports Committee
- Teaching, Leading, Learning Committee
Compensation
Compensation for members of the Ohio State Board of Education is laid out in Section 3301.03 of the Ohio Revised Code. It entitles members of the board to reimbursement for expenses incurred while on official business, as well as a salary to be determined by the state's director of administrative services.[10]
Section 3301.03 (partial):
| Each voting member of the state board of education shall be paid a salary fixed pursuant to division (J) of section 124.15 of the Revised Code, together with the member's actual and necessary expenses incurred while engaged in the performance of the member's official duties or in the conduct of authorized board business, and while en route to and from the member's home for such purposes. |
Section 124.15J:
| Unless compensation for members of a board or commission is otherwise specifically provided by law, the director of administrative services shall establish the rate and method of payment for members of boards and commissions pursuant to the pay schedules listed in section 124.152 of the Revised Code. |
Former officeholders
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Ohio State Board of Education has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
- Melissa Bedell (2022-2025)
- Sue Hackett (2022-2025)
- Michael Toal (2019-2022)
- Stephen Dackin (2019-2022)
- Laura Kohler (2017-2021)
- Eric Poklar (2017-2021)
- Reginald Wilkinson (2019-2020)
- James Sheppard (2018-2019)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ohio Department of Education, "About the State Board of Education," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3301: Department of Education," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ Ohio Department of Education, "State Board of Education Members," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ The Ohio Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Ohio," accessed January 26, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Ohio Revised Code Section 3301.03," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Section 3301.02," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Section 3301.06," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Section 3301.07," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ Ohio Department of Education, "Committees," accessed January 27, 2021
- ↑ LAWriter, "Section 3301.03," accessed January 27, 2021
