Findlay school board gets 1 new member, retains another

FINDLAY — Findlay City Schools Board of Education will have a new member and a returning one after the unofficial results of the 2025 General Election were counted and released by the Hancock County Board of Education Tuesday. Katie Hite, of 304 2nd St., will be the new addition to the board, garnering the most votes in Tuesday's election with 3,071, or 42.7% of the vote. Coming in second in total number of votes was incumbent board President Matthew Cooper, of 15322 Lakeview Pkwy., who got 2,486 votes, or 34.6%. He will retain his board seat. Kaleb Brankamp, of 216 Fox Run Rd., and Jack Winans, of 607 Londonderry Dr., will not be joining the board, with 1,414 votes and 225 votes respectively. These results are considered unofficial until the board of elections confirms the official count in a few weeks. In the other competitive school board races in Hancock County, Van Buren School District voters reelected incumbent board President Laura Ebright, with 580 or 27.6% of the vote, as well as Jamie Cunningham, with 478 votes or 22.7%, and Erica Kelley, with 584 votes or 27.8%. David Gladysz was not elected to the board, with 461 votes or 21.9%. At Arlington Local Schools, Cindy Hindall was elected with the most votes Tuesday, with 440 or 28.2% of the vote, and Kevin Hartman, at 397 votes or 25.4%, and Ted Welsh, at 370 votes or 23.7%, also were elected. Mark Russell, with 355 votes or 22.7%, was not elected. Welsh will be new to the board, while Hindall and Hartman are incumbents. Arcadia Local School District voters reelected incumbents Corey Boes, with 425 votes or 28.8%, and board President Ryan George, with 418 votes or 28.3%, as well as new member-to-be Andrew Roberts, with 329 votes or 22.3%. Rachelle Harmon, who gathered 303 votes or 20.5%, was not elected. In Vanlue Local School District, voters reelected all three campaigning incumbents — Dawn Caudill, with 127 votes or 30.3%, board President Sean Martin, with 109 votes or 26%, and Sarah Garner, with 107 votes or 25.5%. Challenger Eli Hershberger, with 76 votes or 18.1%, was not elected. Elizabeth Clauss contributed to this story.