Mary Dohl
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Mary Dohl ran for election to the Northwest Allen County Schools school board to represent Eel River Township in Indiana. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Dohl completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Mary Dohl was born in Fairfax, Virginia. She earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 2004 and a graduate degree from George Mason University in 2007. Her career experience includes working as a data analyst and information technology consultant. [1]
Elections
2024
See also: Northwest Allen County Schools, Indiana, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Northwest Allen County Schools school board Eel River Township
Liz Chaffee defeated Mary Dohl in the general election for Northwest Allen County Schools school board Eel River Township on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Liz Chaffee (Nonpartisan)  | 57.7 | 11,589 | |
 | Mary Dohl (Nonpartisan) | 42.3 | 8,483 | |
| Total votes: 20,072 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Dohl in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mary Dohl completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dohl's responses.
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I am a mom of three NACS students, perpetual school volunteer, and passionate public servant.
- I am the only candidate who has kids in NACS, with a 4th, 7th, and 8th graders, and as an active parent and school volunteer I am immersed in the culture of our schools. I have been an officer on the PTO board and am in the middle school each week running the charger store, and in the elementary school each week supporting the Boomerang Backpacks (a district-wide food assistance program). NACS has a legacy of school board members who started serving when their kids were in our schools, to be a voice for families directly impacted by the policies they enact. I would continue to serve our community in the same tradition as Ron Felger, Jim Geller, and Paul Sloffer.
- I graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Policy and have spent a career in Data Analytics and Information Technology. As a professional, I spent my career serving non-profits, governments, and start-ups by explaining their data and turning it into actionable information. I've helped decision-makers use analysis to save money and increase efficiency in their organizations. Because Education is historically under-funded by the state of Indiana, our district has to find ways to do more with less. My professional experience will guide the board through informed decision-making while representing a generation of tech-savvy students and families.
- I have a history of public service, having been elected to the Eel River Township Board in 2022. Our board represents the fastest growing community in the county with a mix of suburban and rural households. I am particularly protective of our community, not just rural residents but also our farmers who pay their fair share to support our students. As the district continues to expand to the edges of the county, we need to be mindful of the impact on traffic and infrastructure, safety for our students, and revenue/expenses as we levy property taxes. Serving on the township board has given me great insight into how to work with a bipartisan board, oversight of our trustee, and how to protect our most vulnerable constituents.
Public Education and Food Insecurity
For school board, it is essential that candidates remain unbiased (this is a non-partisan position), keep an open mind, and listen carefully to our school families. We have more than 8,000 students in our district and they all have unique experiences, we have theatre kids and football kids, families who have farmed for five generations and families that are newly here as refugees. We want to make sure every student feels safe and valued when they walk through our doors, so it is essential that a board member remains humble and willing to learn.
School board members have the primary responsibility of oversight and governance, not explicit policy-making. As our role is limited to approving budgets/policies, and hiring/firing the superintendent, candidates must come to the office understanding that they will not have any opportunity to manage day-to-day operations of the district. Rarely, school board members are privy to information about personnel or students and must maintain the strictest of confidentiality to preserve the trust of the community; it is essential that members can be trusted to remain professional.
My favorite book is "Somebody's Daughter", by Fort Wayne native Ashley C. Ford. Ms. Ford wrote this extraordinary memoir about growing up with a single mother and an incarcerated father; she exquisitely captures the way young kids interpret the world. It was a book that I related to so much as a kid that experienced periods of extreme poverty, and again as a parent understanding how our children are always observing and trying to make sense of the chaos around them. It changed my perspective in so many ways, and Ms. Ford gave me an example of how to love your people through their worst choices.
Oversight and Governance of the district and administration.
Voters in Eel River, Lake, and Perry townships.
All of our students and families deserve to be celebrated and invested in. We need to focus on post-secondary paths that include non-traditional career paths, not just college enrollment. We also need to invest in programs that appeal to a diverse subset of students, not limited to athletics or academics, but also the fine arts and vocational training.
By being responsive and available to any and all community members who need assistance. Our role is limited but we can listen and connect to people who can help, and it is always beneficial to hear how specific school policies affect families.
Good teachers connect with their students and use innovative approaches, with hands-on learning techniques and practice in real-world scenarios. The district should continue to support teachers who want to receive additional professional education to state up to date on the latest techniques.
We need to expand curriculum to include more vocational training, STEM teachers in the elementary schools, and partnerships with local business leaders to create job guarantees for apprenticeships supported through the district.
We need to seriously consider additional funding measures through a referendum if we do not see additional funding through the state.
Each and every student deserves to feel safe and valued. It doesn't matter what differences those students have, all school policies should embrace the principle that everyone is welcome in our buildings.
The district needs to hire additional counselors, social workers, and support staff (Resource and Instructional Aides) to help students and families who are the most vulnerable. Our current ratio is unsustainable and the high turnover for non-classified staff does not serve our students who need consistency. The district will have to pursue any means necessary to address this issue, including the potential for a referendum to increase levies (our current tax rate is historically low even as our district faces unprecedented growth).
I would like to see changes to the 10 year budget plan to include higher teacher salaries.
The Committee to Support Public Education in Northwest Allen County
One that prioritizes learning over test scores or other finite measures of success, where students feel safe making mistakes and can embrace failure as part of the learning process.
We did the best with the information we had at the time; we didn't lose a single teacher or staff member to the coronavirus and were back to school sooner than many districts nationwide.
I am in the schools multiple times a week as a NACS parent, I am already having conversations with folks about what we're doing right and what we can improve on.
The district needs more funding to avoid a crisis of recruitment and retention. The administration has repeatedly told the board that we are losing good candidates because we aren't paying enough, and we need to use any means necessary to shore up funding and make our compensation package competitive. Our people are what make our district great, and it only hurts our students to lose the best educators to neighboring districts.
Having served in public office, I prioritize financial transparency and accountability. Elected officials are trusted to manage their budgets with responsibility; it is not *our* money, it is *their* money, and those that have served with me will tell you that I am always fighting to use public money to materially benefit those taxpayers. Constituents will hold elected officials accountable with their vote, however, I strongly believe that serving in a position of public trust means you must be available in-person and through email, phone, or other communication channels to all in your district, even those who didn't vote for you.
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
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Northwest Allen County Schools school board Eel River Township |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 15, 2024
