Dayton school board candidate withdraws

Four new members joined Dayton’s school board in the 2017 election, and the other three seats will turn over this winter. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF

Four new members joined Dayton’s school board in the 2017 election, and the other three seats will turn over this winter. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF

One of the five candidates for Dayton school board said Tuesday night that she is withdrawing from the November election race.

Jamie Rippey cited job issues as the reason for her decision, which she said was made “after much consideration and (with) a heavy heart.”

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“I recently made some adjustments in my work life that will not allow me to devote 100% to the campaign and more importantly (to) my responsibilities as a board member to the district, teachers, students and staff,” Rippey said in an email.

Her withdrawal leaves four candidates competing for three seats on the board: Dion Sampson, Will Smith, Joe Lacey and Gabriela Pickett-Mosier.

Wednesday, a public candidate forum for the school board candidates is being hosted by the Greater Dayton Young Democrats at 6 p.m. at the Northwest Branch Library, 2410 Philadelphia Drive.

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Incumbent school board members Robert Walker, Sheila Taylor and John McManus decided not to run for re-election and are serving out their terms through the end of 2019.

That means by January, all seven school board seats will have turned over in the past two years. The three new members elected in November will join a four-member majority elected in 2017 — William Harris, Jocelyn Rhynard, Mohamed Al-Hamdani and Karen Wick-Gagnet.

Of 600-plus Ohio school districts, Dayton has scored among the bottom five on state tests each of the past three state report cards, posting the lowest performance index in Ohio for 2017-18. The 2018-19 state report card will be released Thursday.

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