Kimberly Dyer, Whitney Horner and Jenniffer Gonzalez will be joining the Summit School District Board of Education starting Dec. 4 following the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. 

Summit Daily News called the race for Dyer and Horner around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, but the race between Gonzalez, Jacqueline Zheleznyak and Tom Day was too close to call until the final batch of unofficial results was uploaded around 1:10 a.m. Wednesday. The five candidates ran for the three seats previously held by Lisa Webster, Johanna Kugler and Chris Guarino.

Full unofficial results available early Wednesday morning showed Dyer with 4,936 votes (26.81%), Horner with 4,590 votes (24.93%), Gonzalez with 3,080 votes (16.73%), Jacqueline Zheleznyak with 2,950 votes (16.02%) and Tom Day with 2,858 votes (15.52%).

“I am feeling thankful to the community for their trust and support. … I am ready to learn, move forward and work together with the rest of the board,” Dyer said. 

“I am just excited to step up and try to do the work to support all students,” Horner said.

Ahead of the election, the Summit County Education Association, a local teachers union, endorsed Horner and Dyer after completing an interview process with candidates. 

The candidates all participated in an election forum on Tuesday, Oct. 28, and submitted opinion pieces to the Summit Daily News outlining their priorities and platforms ahead of Election Day. 

Dyer, a now-retired school counselor, said she wanted to stay connected with and support the youth community post-retirement and wants to use her experience to continue to advocate for youth and be a champion for public education. She said she values hard conversations and looks to encourage civil discourse in decision making, according to comments made at the Oct. 28 election forum. She also said she seeks to promote critical thinking. 

Horner said her top priority was promoting literacy during her run for a seat on the Board of Education. She also listed safety and placing more value on the staff members who make the school district run as priorities. During the election forum, she said her work as a dietitian and lactation health consultant helps her understand the needs of local families and the challenges they face. She said she believes collaboration should play a significant role in decision making and pedestals adaptability in an evolving world and education environment. 

Gonzalez said she wanted to prioritize improved academics, parental involvement and creating a culture of respect and kindness throughout the district. She said she sought to advocate for the district’s Spanish-speaking population and wanted to work to boost their test scores. She said her years working in Summit County nonprofits helped her get a pulse on the needs of local families. During the election forum, she shared concerns over the current academic success of the district and said she would like to see more transparency from leaders and officials. 

Zheleznyak said she sought to prioritize fiscal responsibility and sustainability, staff well-being and academic performance. As a health care lobbyist, she said she brings unique insight into the current and upcoming economics at the state level that dictate education funding on a local level. She said she wants to work to make Summit School District one of the best employers in the county and ensure the needs of every student are met. 

Day, a real estate agent, said his priorities were school finances, parental involvement and academic performance. During the election forum, he said he would like to prioritize the district’s spending to go more toward fostering students’ ability to get jobs after school as opposed to on equity initiatives. He was critical of the district’s current performance rating and test scores and said he wanted to work to improve those. He also advocated for paying teachers better wages. 

The next Board of Education meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 6, but the candidates who won the Nov. 4 election will not start serving in their new roles until Dec. 4.