Some new faces guaranteed on school boards in South Bend, Penn-Harris-Madison, Mishawaka

SOUTH BEND — Local school districts are set to receive some new leadership in January 2025 as voters in the Nov. 5 general election will choose candidates for school board seats, which are nonpartisan.

In St. Joseph County’s largest school district, South Bend Community School Corp., there are two at-large seats up for reelection, in addition to two district seats.

Among the big topics new board members will take on are the disposition of several vacant school buildings , the reunification of Empowerment Zone schools with the district and the potential creation of a county career hub that would enhance access to career and technical education classes for students across the region.

For the two at-large seats, (voters will pick two), the candidates are Marcus Ellison, Kyla Henderson, George Jones, Gabe Kempf, Lynn King and incumbent Jeanette McCullough. In District 3, they’ll choose either Catrina Baker or Bill Sniadecki. And in District 4, they’ll pick incumbent Stephanie Ball, Carlos Leyva or Annette Malone.

King works as a contract school bus driver for the district, is the husband of the district’s transportation director, LaToya King, and was the subject of a 2021 Tribune article for being South Bend’s highest-paid driver that year. Sniadecki was a former school board member who was unseated by current board member Leslie Wesley in 2016.  He narrowly lost to Wesley, who isn’t running to retain her seat, again in 2020.

In Penn-Harris-Madison schools, a total of six candidates are vying for two Penn Township seats and one Harris Township seat.

The Harris Township candidates are Gary Fox and former P-H-M Planetarium director Art Klinger. The winner will replace incumbent Clare Roach.

The Penn Township candidates are Katie Inabnit Bell, Doug Chaffee, incumbent James Garrett and Ryan McCullough.

Chaffee is a former P-H-M teacher, coach and administrator and father of current school board member Matt Chaffee. In May, the school board asked the younger Chaffee to resign his Penn Township board seat over allegations that he solicited prostitutes .

Meanwhile, Ben Dallas tried to run for an at-large seat using the nickname “Ben Dallas MAGA,” but the St. Joseph County Election Board reportedly canceled his candidacy for using two nicknames, “Ben” in place of “Benjamin” and “MAGA,” when only one is legally allowed.

In School City of Mishawaka, which has a hybrid board with two appointed seats and three elected ones, two at-large seats are up for reelection, but neither are opposed. Angela Layman and Melllissa Kay Johnson will retain their seats.

All of the candidate filings can be viewed at the county’s website here .

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Some new faces guaranteed on school boards in South Bend, Penn-Harris-Madison, Mishawaka