Zach Vorst

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Zach Vorst

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Nonpartisan

Hilliard City Schools Board of Education At-large

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

3

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

University of Toledo, 2006

Graduate

Western Carolina University, 2011

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Personal

Profession

Nurse anesthetist

Contact

Official website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Zach Vorst is an at-large member of the Hilliard City Schools Board of Education in Ohio. He assumed office on January 1, 2022. His current term ends on December 31, 2025.

Vorst ran for election for an at-large seat of the Hilliard City Schools Board of Education in Ohio. He won in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Vorst completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Vorst's professional experience includes working as a nurse anesthetist. He began serving in the U.S. Army in 2013. Vorst earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo in 2006 and a graduate degree from Western Carolina University in 2011.

Elections

2021

See also: Hilliard City Schools, Ohio, elections (2021)

General election

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

The following candidates ran in the general election for Hilliard City Schools Board of Education At-large on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kara Crowley (Nonpartisan)	18.7	9,257
✔	Submit photo	Zach Vorst (Nonpartisan)	15.0	7,390
✔	Submit photo	Beth Murdoch (Nonpartisan)	14.8	7,328
	Submit photo	Mark Abate (Nonpartisan)	13.1	6,476
		Kelley Arnold (Nonpartisan)	12.7	6,270
		Jon Parker-Jones (Nonpartisan)	11.1	5,491
	Submit photo	Lisa Chaffee (Nonpartisan)	9.4	4,636
	Submit photo	Sarah Florimonte (Nonpartisan)	5.2	2,566

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 49,414
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Zach Vorst completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vorst'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’m originally from a small town in Northwest Ohio. I’m the oldest of 6 kids, my Dad is a truck driver, and my Mom recently retired after 30 years as a public school teacher and counselor. My wife, who is also a nurse, and I moved to Hilliard in 2012, partially due to the incredible schools. Our kids are 8, 6, and 3 and we have had a tremendous experience in our limited time in the school system! We have made lifelong friends here and plan to keep our roots here in Hilliard. We love date nights in Old Hilliard, taking our kids to Homestead Park, and going to our children’s games at our local fields! I’ve been a registered nurse for 15 years and have worked in several different areas of health care. I enlisted in the Ohio National Guard in 2003 and served for 10 years before deciding to join the U.S. Army Reserve. I’m very active in my state professional organization, in which I’ve held many volunteer positions including a stint on the board of directors. I’m very excited to be running and am looking forward to helping our 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?

• Academics first
• Fiscal responsibility
• Making school a safe and welcoming environment for everyone

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm most passionate about improving our academic status. Our test scores have been slipping and our kids will suffer if we continue to let our academic achievement slide. I hope to increase parent engagement in school in an attempt to improve our academic achievement.

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

My parents, particularly my mother. She's a hard worker and never makes excuses. I also look up to anyone who has the willingness to go against the crowd when they feel it's against their principles. It's not easy to dissent from the crowd now, and I respect those willing to do so.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman and "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss

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

Honesty, openness, clear communication

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

To communicate with the community and take their experiences into account towards developing school policy.

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

I was in my third week of college when 9/11 happened. It was a very profound event for me (as well as for everyone) and our response as a country made me extremely proud to be an American!

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

I worked in a bar making pizzas when I was about 15. I worked there for about 6 months before going to a different job.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky. It's hilarious and honest.

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

n/a

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

n/a

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The primary job is to keep communication with the public open and to use that communication to help guide school policy in a direction that the superintendent and rest of the staff can carry out.

Who are your constituents?

Everyone! The kids, parents, teachers and staff, and taxpayers are who we serve.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

I would do that by listening and taking an interest in the individual needs of everyone. More than anything, people want to be heard. People want to know that their needs are important. I firmly believe in engagement with the community is the key to ensuring the needs of our constituents are met.

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

Discussions with all of our groups are important! PTO, parents of kids on athletic teams, and any other group of folks that get together are important to have as engagements of the school board.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

I do. We are missing out on a lot of talent from other communities. I would follow our goals set out by the DEI committee with respect to hiring. We must get the best teachers from every community in our area to come work in our district!

What issues get in the way of quality education? How would you address these obstacles?

Lack of parental involvement and not making academics a priority. See above.

Tell us your favorite joke.

n/a

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

Discussions! We must engage any and all parents as a board and encourage their participation, in any way they deem fit, in our district.

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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Candidate

Hilliard City Schools Board of Education At-large

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Officeholder

Hilliard City Schools Board of Education At-large

Website

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