The absentee ballots have all been counted at the Hamilton County Election office and the results show the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board will have three new members in January.  Both incumbents lost in their bids for another term.  Amanda Shera was elected four years ago and Clint Wilson was selected by the board to finish Mike Bottorff’s term when he resigned from the board in 2019.  Both were unsuccessful as candidates in 2020.  Sylvia Shepler chose not to seek another term this year in Wayne Township.

The nail-biter has been in the Delaware Township race.  The final tally shows Sarah Donsbach as the winner by 22 votes over Amanda Shera, out of more than 42,000 votes cast.  That’s a winning margin of .05%.

The other two township races were not close.  Suzanne Thomas easily prevailed in a crowded field of 5 candidates.  Sarah Parks-Reese was the winner in Wayne Township.

The HSE School Board at-large election means all voters in all three townships select one candidate from each of the three townships.

The new board members will have a number of issues to handle when assuming board seats in January, including possible redistricting with a new Wayne Township elementary school in the works.