This year’s crop of Columbus School Board candidates may be the most distinguished in the city’s history. Those running include Eric Brown – former Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and 15-year school board member at Mayfield City Schools; Mary Jo Hudson – former Columbus City Council member and former Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance; Jim Hunter – a Harvard graduate; Bernadine Kent, former Columbus City Schools vice principal, teacher and the key whistleblower on two of the school district’s recent scandals; Tina Pierce – former college professor and administrator, and current educational consultant; Ben Tyson – Senior Manager of Community Relations at Easton Town Center; Robert Sharrah – internal auditor and fraud investigator; and the two incumbents Gary Baker and Shawna Gibbs.

 (updated 12-05-2022)
“The basic principle of parole is that while people must be punished for their wrongdoing, most are capable of growing, changing and rejoining society before the end of their sentence…. The difficult job of determining when someone is ready is entrusted to parole boards, which should weigh, among other things, a person’s behavior behind bars and the likelihood that he or she will not commit another offense if released.” ~ New York Times editorial, February 16, 2014.