MORGAN COUNTY — School board candidates for all four county school districts are set for the November election after the deadline to file arrived at noon last Thursday.
The general election will mark a milestone in Indiana politics, as it will be the first election to feature partisan school board candidates. Up ‘til now, school board candidates have been strictly “non-partisan,” but state lawmakers have tweaked election rules to allow candidates to run on a party ticket if they choose.
This election cycle, Mooresville Consolidated School Corp. has three seats up for election, the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville has two, the Monroe-Gregg School District has two, and the Eminence Community School Corp. has three.
Mooresville
Two of Mooresville’s three available seats are pretty much already secured. Mooresville board member Matt Saner is running for reelection unopposed in District 2, and board member Dave Oberle is running for reelection unopposed in District 1.
Both Saner and Oberle are running as Republican candidates.
Board member Deon Brimmage is running in his first school board election in District 5, after being appointed to the board at the end of 2024.
Brimmage, a Republican, will be challenged by two fellow Republicans — Sharon Atwood and Lea Sharp.
Martinsville
There are two seats opening up this November in the MSD of Martinsville. One will see a competitive election; the other saw nobody file to run at all.
In District 2, board member Dan Conway is running for reelection as a Republican. He will be challenged by Jordan Scott Terrell, also a Republican.
School board president Luke Jackson’s District 5 seat was also up for grabs, and Jackson, a Libertarian, had previously said that he would not seek reelection.
It seems no one else wanted his seat either, as no one filed to run in the District 5 race.
The Correspondent spoke with Jackson and Martinsville Superintendent Eric Bowlen last week about this dilemma. They said because no one filed to run for the seat, the four remaining school board members will have 30 days, starting in January, to appoint someone to fill the vacancy Jackson leaves behind.
Bowlen said the board plans to hold public interviews for prospective candidates in January. Bowlen added that the board will get to choose Jackson’s replacement only because he was elected as a non-partisan candidate.
In the future, board members will be replaced through partisan caucuses.
Monrovia
The Monroe-Gregg School Board will see new faces, as current board members Brock Sears and Ky Kizzee will not seek reelection this fall.
Gregg Township District 2, Kizzee’s seat, will be filled by Independent candidate Quinnette Justin, as no one else filed to run in that seat.
Meanwhile in Monroe Township District 1, a threeway race to replace Sears is brewing.
Carl Gilbert, who recently ran to be a Morgan County Commissioner, is running as the Republican candidate. John Dowell is running for the Monroe Township seat as an Independent, and Sarah Ragsdale is running as a non-partisan candidate.
Eminence
Eminence has three school board races in the fall, but only one new face will be coming to the board.
Adams Township will see Jason Mayes retain his seat, as he is running for reelection unopposed. Meanwhile, Andrew Finney will keep his at-large seat, as no is running against him.
An Ashland Township seat, currently held by Jeremy Clay, saw no one file to run, and so the board will have to fill the vacant seat in January.
The 2026 midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
