School board candidates from three districts in the Miami Valley are set to speak tonight at a forum sponsored by the Dayton NAACP.
School Board hopefuls from Dayton, Trotwood, and Jefferson Township are all set to convene tonight at a moderated forum in Dayton. The event will include time for constituents to meet each candidate.
Mohamed Al-Hamdani, Paul Bradley, Ann Marie Gallin, Bill Harris Jr., Jo’el Jones, incumbent Joe Lacey, Jocelyn Rhynard and Karen Wick-Gagnet are competing for 4 seats on the Dayton School Board.
In Trotwood, incumbents Myra Bozeman, Deborah Daniel and Denise Moore will be challenged by 2 new candidates, Toni Perry Gillispie and Norman Scearce. And, incumbents Cuttino Dargan, Emmet Orr, and Vilma Helms join newcomer Kanata Jones in Jefferson Township races.
The election comes at a critical time for Dayton and Trotwood. This summer, Dayton Public Schools settled a months long contract dispute that nearly culminated in a teacher strike. The district also saw a drop in some grades on its state school report card. Trotwood schools are at risk of state watch if its report card grades do not improve in the next year.
The forum will be held tonight at 6:30 at the Dayton Boys Preparatory Academy.