Susan Horn wins last open BOE seat

Susan Horn

In the only contested school board race, Susan Horn defeated Reuben “Buddy” Pelot, garnering just over 61 percent of the vote to represent the 5th District.

The board of education seats are non-partisan.

Horn will join Tony Norman and Jennifer Owen as new faces on the 9-member school board.

Norman and Owen defeated opponents in the March primary and were not in contested races Thursday. Norman (3rd District) and Owen (2nd District) replace Doug Harris and Tracie Sanger, respectively. Neither of the incumbents sought re-election.

Horn and Pelot were the top two vote-getters in a three-way March contest, so they squared off again. Karen Carson, the sitting incumbent for the seat, also didn’t run again.

In addition, 8th District incumbent Mike McMillan retained his seat after no one filed to challenge him in March.

The school board in the upcoming year will be tasked with hiring a new school superintendent to help oversee the system. Jim McIntyre and the current board reached an agreement to pay him one year’s salary of $227,000 to step down in early July.