BJ Bethel
Dropped out
Amber Drum
Education: Bachelor’s; early childhood education, reading endorsement, K-12 Master’s classes
Current Employment: Travel adviser, Dreams travel consulting
Community Involvement: Girl Scout Troop Leader, nine years; Tipp Bethel West Milton Girl Scout Leadership Experience chair and recruitment chair, four years; softball coach, TCJB two years
Why are you seeking elected office? I want to help change the narrative in this community. I believe that a board of education must be responsive and receptive to parents, teachers, staff, students and the community at large. I believe that I can help put some trust back into the school board and help to set our school district up for a path to success in the future.
Why should voters elect you? Whenever I see a need to help in the community, I always step in to help, and right now I see that the current Tipp City Board of Education needs help. I believe that I am the right person to step in and help the board of education because I’m a passionate person when it comes to the students, teachers, staff and administrators in this district. Plus, I’m passionate about Tipp City and community member concerns. I’m a former educator who completed my student teaching in the Tipp City School District. I know what the staff, teachers and administrators’ jobs entail and the support they need because I’ve worked alongside them. I believe I can be the person that helps repair the fractures that have been forming between the current board of education and our staff, teachers, administrators and community.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? The first challenge facing the board is to listen to the concerns of community members and focus on the children first. The current board seems to spend an inordinate amount of time on miscellaneous matters and has lost sight of putting children first. They don’t seem to care about teachers’ concerns or the concerns residents are expressing. I plan to change that by building stronger ties between the teachers and the school board. I feel the way to do this is to open up the lines of communication between the residents, teachers, staff and the board, so decisions can be made that benefit our students and community. Next, the board needs to spend taxpayer money wisely and ensure the community can see how taxpayer money is being spent. There are many unanswered questions that have been presented to me as a candidate. For example: questions such as why does the district own a random plot of land? Where did this amount of money come from, or where did this amount of money go? As a member of the board and a taxpayer in this community, transparency is needed between the board of education and the taxpaying community.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? The board needs to stop the talent drain! A school board should keep one eye on the present and one eye looking toward the future. There should be plans in place to keep our talented staff, teachers and administrators at Tipp Schools. A plan of action needs to be created when it comes to the action of renewing contracts; budgeting; allowing the children of staff, teachers and administrators to open enroll; allowing their children in the buildings before and after school; and many other small details that make Tipp City Schools a place that talented educators want to work in. Small details show our staff, teachers and administrators that we appreciate all the hard work they do for our children. Small details that will add up over time and make Tipp City Schools a place that attracts and keeps top talent. We need to keep the talent in Tipp!
Anything else? I truly care about the Tipp City School District, and I want the best for our kids now and in the future. It’s time to change the narrative in Tipp city.
Don Petsch
No response
Lydia E. Pleiman
No response
Richard Mains
Education: Wright State University, Bachelor’s of science
Current Employment: R.J. Mains & Associates, Inc. Certified Public Accountants
Community Involvement: I served on the Tipp City Board of Education from 1991 to 1995. I presently serve as treasurer for the Tipp City Rotary. Other past leadership roles include serving as president for the Tipp City Chamber of Commerce in 1986, the Tipp City Mum Festival in 1986, the Tipp City Jaycees 1983-1984, and the Tipp City Rotary 1997-1998. I also served on the board for the Area Agency on Aging 1998-2002, PSA 2 serving both as a trustee and as treasurer. I served as an adviser for the Tippecanoe Educational Endowment organization and as tax consultant for Tipp City Parents Involved in Education. I love working with kids.
Why are you seeking elected office? I have been a resident of this community for 45 years. The reason we moved to Tipp City was because of the excellent reputation of our schools. I care about our kids and grandkids so much. Tipp City has always had a reputation of excellent schools. We have recently lost several teachers and administrators. I want our teachers to know how much that I and all of our community appreciate the hard work that they are doing. I want to unite our board in an effort to seek solutions to creating a positive environment for all of our teachers and administrative staff.
Why should voters elect you? I am a practicing Certified Public Accountant. I obtained my Bachelor’s of science degree from Wright State University in 1973. I am a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of CPAs. My professional experience in finance and business will help in the financial decision-making process with the board of education. As previously mentioned, I served on the Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education from 1991 through 1995. I served as vice president in my final two years on the board. I want to serve our students, our teachers, our parents and the entire community of Tipp City.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. Improving public confidence 2. Developing an effective pathway for communication between the administration, teachers and the board of education. 3. Modernizing outdated facilities
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? 1. Improving public confidence: Public access to school board meetings is increasingly important as our community continues to grow. It is very hard for the public to have access to board meetings. The board of education office is only allowed public access for approximately 40 persons. The board does provide live (and recorded) streaming of its meetings, however many residents don’t have adequate technology. Moving the monthly board meetings to a facility such as the high school auditorium would be helpful. 2. Developing an effective pathway for communication between the administration, teachers and the board of education. Our teachers are a treasure chest of useful information when it comes to many of the issues discussed by the board of education. After all, they obtained their teaching degrees in education. I believe that we should allow them to play a bigger part in many of the decisions made by the board. I want to find a way to provide easier access to and from our teachers in an effort to make the best possible decisions required of all board members. 3. Modernizing outdated facilities: Our community values our historic and beautiful school buildings. Many of our residents have fond memories of receiving their childhood educations in these buildings. Some of our older buildings are experiencing problems with temperature control, resulting in very uncomfortable environments for our students and teachers. I would like to have our board find a solution.
Anything else? I am a grandfather. I care about all of you. I care about your kids and your grandkids. I care about our teachers and administrators. In the past I was a coach and also assistant coach for Tipp Youth Soccer and Tipp City Peewee Football. Just like all of you, I love working with our kids. You, as parents and grandparents, have the responsibility to give your children the best possible education. Our children can only receive the best possible education if they have the best possible teachers. We can only have the best teachers if we have the best possible principals and administrative staff. This is the board’s responsibility to you as a resident of our community. I care about our entire community. We are Tipp!