Mad River school board to consider 8 candidates for vacant post
Jan. 12—Eight Mad River Local Schools residents seeking to fill a vacancy on the district's board of education will be the focus of a meeting Monday.
The school board is set to hold an executive session to review candidates seeking to replace Cristina Pickle, who served 29 years — several of them as president or vice president — before her resignation was announced earlier this month.
The candidates include three with military ties and at least three Stebbins High School graduates, according to school district documents. According to district records, they are:
—Amy Cooper is executive director of a property management company who has served as president of the Riverside Jaycees. She has volunteered in Riverside for more than 20 years.
—Crystal Farris has lived in Riverside for decades. She has volunteered in schools more than 25 years, including more than two decades as a Girl Scout leader.
—Raymond Hill Jr. is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a former professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Hill also taught at the University of Dayton and Wright State University after earning a doctorate from Ohio State University.
—Kerry Kielbaso has worked for defense contractors for 20-plus years, more than a dozen of them at Wright-Patterson Air Force. Kielbaso earned a bachelor's degree at Colorado Technical University.
—Mitch Lambert owns a transportation logistics business. He is a lifelong Riverside resident and a Stebbins grad who is pursuing a bachelor's degree from Wright State University.
—TJ Santana works for an automobile dealership. The Stebbins graduate previously was a restaurant general manager.
—Beverly Sherwood is a finance specialist for Miami Twp. She is a member of the Stebbins PTO, the high school's alumni association, and is a community event volunteer.
—Terrance Tolbert is a retired Air Force master sergeant who is a safety specialist for a private business. He has earned three associate's degrees from the Community College of the Air Force.
The school board is expected to interview candidates on Thursday and appoint a new member at its Jan. 22 meeting, Treasurer Jerry Ellender said.
Pickle was first elected in 1994 and resigned in her eighth term. She was board president in 1998, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015 and 2022, and vice president in 1996, 2003, 2005, 2011 and 2019, according to the school district.
The last Mad River board vacancy due to resignation was in the late 1990s, according to the district. Ken Davenport stepped down and was replaced by current board President Marilyn Steiner, who is in her sixth term and is now the longest serving board member.
Monday's meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the district's offices, 801 Harshman Road.
