Incumbents largely held their ground, joined by a few newcomers in Northern Kentucky’s four competitive school board races on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to election results from the Kentucky Secretary of State.
Five new representatives also joined boards of education at Beechwood, Dayton and Erlanger-Elsmere independent school districts in non-competitive races. School board members serve on five-person boards for four-year terms in all 13 Northern Kentucky districts.
Get the results from all the local and state elections Northern Kentuckians voted on at our Election HQ here.
Boone County Board of Education
Candidates competed in separate races for the Division 4 and Division 5 seats on the Boone County Board of Education.
Incumbent Cindy Young defeated challenger Robin Shumate for the the Division 4 seat, securing a second term. Young received 53% and Shumate received 47% the total 6,118 votes.
Write-in candidate Jerry Rich won the Division 5 seat, replacing longtime Board Member Karen Byrd who did not seek reelection for the seat she held for more than three decades. Rich won 55% or 39 of the 71 votes cast, defeating three other write-in candidates: Brandon Ashcraft with 19.7%, Linda Kunkel Schild with 16.9% and Brenna Penrose with 8.45%.
Newport Board of Education
Newport residents voted to keep both incumbents Sylvia Covington and Ramona Malone on the Newport Board of Education, defeating sole challenger Benjamin Middendorf.
Of a total 4,703 votes Covington won 37% of the vote, Malone won 34% of the vote and Middendorf won 30% of the vote.
Malone who serves as chair has served on the board since 2009. Covington has served on the board since 2019.
Bellevue Board of Education
Incumbents Jenn Owens and Dan Swope will remain on the Bellevue Board of Education joined by newcomer Tammi Woodruff.
Owens and Swope ran alongside challengers Woodruff and Ronnie Noonchester for three open seats on the board.
Woodruff and Owens tied each winning 28% of a total 3,895 votes. Swope won 24% of votes and Noonchester won 20% of votes.
This will be Owens’ third term and Swope’s fifth term on the board.
New faces in non-competitive races
Five new members joined Beechwood, Dayton and Erlanger-Elsmere boards of education in no-contest races replacing incumbents who did not seek reelection.
Dayton High School graduate Jordan Furnish was elected to the Dayton Board of Education replacing board member Lori Peterson.
Robin Hood and Shane Noem were elected to the Beechwood Board of Education replacing outgoing board members Brad Hood and Jeanne Berger.
Serena Owen was elected to join the Erlanger-Elsmere Board of Education filling a vacancy created by Sarah Shackelford-Ross earlier this year before her term expired at the end of 2026.
