The Oberlin School District Board of Education held an organizational meeting Jan. 9 at Oberlin Elementary School and voted on the president and vice president roles and swore in two recently elected members, including one who ran a write-in campaign and won.
The board re-elected Farah Emeka as president and re-elected Jo-Anne Steggall as vice president
Ken Stanley was sworn in to his seat on the school board after he won re-election in November.
Janet Garrett was sworn in for her first term on the board after she was elected as a write-in candidate in the November general election.
Garrett replaces Anne Schaum, who decided not to run for re-election after serving 10 years on the board.
Garrett, who notably ran for Congress against Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (OH-4) three times from 2014-18, said she ran as a write-in for the school board due to a timing issue.
She said she was consumed by working to get reproductive rights protections on the ballot in Ohio, and then on getting it passed through State Issue 1 last November.
“I worked really hard during the last year and a half on Issue 1,” Garrett said. “I was working to gather signatures and wasn’t thinking about the board.”
However, after the deadline to get on the school board ballot had passed, she said a friend called her to convince her to run as a write-in.
That is when she made the decision to enter the race.
“I went in and the deadline for signing up was four o’clock on a Monday,” Garrett said. “It was 10 minutes to four o’clock when I walked out.
“I wasn’t really thinking about running, but after it was in the pipeline, I was stoked about it.”
Garrett taught at Oberlin City Schools for 24 years, retiring in 2015 after 12 years teaching kindergarten in the district.
She said she is looking forward to getting back into education.
“I’m very excited to be back here,” Garrett said. “I’ve been attending meetings since I signed up to be a candidate, and I know a lot of the people that are still here.”
Garrett was named the Ohio School Board Association Legislative liaison during the Jan. 9 meeting, which is a role she said connects to her political career.
“That’s just in my wheelhouse because I’ve been involved in political stuff for so long,” she said.
Garrett, whose entire teaching career spanned about 40 years, said she is excited to be a voice for teachers on the school board.
“I am very dedicated to making it easier for the teachers to do their jobs,” she said. “I have the teachers’ backs and that’s what I’m the most excited about.”
