CRESTVIEW — The Crestview community will determine the future of its local education system with the election of three school board members on Nov. 7.

Voters will have the opportunity to select three out of four candidates competing for seats on the Crestview Local School District board of education. The four candidates are David T. Brennan, David E. Kissel, Jr., Debbie A. Reidy, and Evan Jerrod Stuart.

There are a total of five members on Crestview’s board of education; the other two seats will be on the ballot in 2025.

Brennan, Kissel and Reidy all currently serve on the board. At age 18, this is Stuart’s first run for elected office.

The Crestview Local School District is split between two counties, serving students in the northeastern part of Richland County, and the northwestern part of Ashland County.

The role of the board is to advise the superintendent and treasurer on community viewpoints, and ensure the district is well-managed by administrators. The board only evaluates the superintendent and treasurer.

Crestview’s board of education meets monthly in the Middle School Assembly Room. Agendas are posted on the school’s website, www.crestviewschools.net.

Each candidate was emailed the following questions to answer:

1. Please tell me a bit about yourself: 

  • Name
  • Age
  • Current occupation 
  • Educational attainment 
  • Any prior experience as an elected official 
  • Any other details you believe are relevant 

2. Why are you interested in being part of Crestview’s Board of Education? 

3. How do you feel your education and experience prepare you for the job? 

4. What are some of the Crestview Local School District’s greatest assets? Greatest challenges? 

5. What is your action plan to leave Crestview Local School District better than you found it? Please be as specific as possible. 

6. Anything else you’d like to add? 

In the interest of fairness, each candidate was asked to limit their answers to three to five sentences. Candidates were also asked to submit a picture of themselves.

Read the candidates’ answers below, in alphabetical order. Answers have been lightly edited for clarity:

David Brennan

My name is David Brennan. I am 44 years old. I am a veterinarian and own my own practice. I graduated from Crestview High School in 1997 and am very happy to have my two children attending Crestview Schools as well.

I am interested in being part of the Crestview Board of Education because Crestview has always been an excellent school and I want to see it continue to be. I want to see Crestview Schools provide all students with a comprehensive education that includes both academic and real-world skills that will help them succeed after graduation.

My experience as a Crestview graduate, parent, business owner and community member has prepared me well for this role. As a business owner, I have experience budgeting and managing money that is critical for the success of a school district. Owning a business has also allowed me to gain experience working with diverse communities and understand the importance of collaboration and teamwork. As a parent I understand what parents want from the school district for their children.

Crestview has always been an excellent school district with genuinely caring teachers that have a very supportive community. I want to see that continue in the future. Crestview will be challenged with maintaining class sizes in the future. I want to see Crestview remain a well-attended and successful school.

I want to help Crestview continue to provide all students with opportunities that will help them be successful after graduation. I want all students to be prepared for their future after graduation. That means preparing both students that want to enter the work force as well as students that want to continue on to college.  I will work with our broad community to provide opportunity for each student.

David Kissel

Hello, my name is Dave Kissel. I am 44 years old. I have been a lifelong resident of the Crestview School district. My grandfather and father attended Union before merging with Savannah to become Crestview, then myself and two children graduated from Crestview as well as a son that is currently in High School. 

My wife’s name is Katie and we have three children Kolton , Karter, and Kaden. I am the owner of Kissel’s Lawncare Snow Plowing and Painting, which is a family-operated business with some part-time employees.

As a member of the school board I have been the President and vice president as well as been on the building and grounds and staff relations committees, as well as represented the board in contract negotiations. Also in the years prior to that I was elected as an executive board member of Chapter 7010 for eight years while working at Mansfield Correctional.                                              

 As a current board member my decisions are based on what I feel is the best interest of our community and kids. Crestview is a great community and district; as with anything whether it be education or improvements around the district or the environment for staff, kids or community there can always be room to grow.

One of Crestview’s challenges is remaining fiscally sound; we don’t have the luxury of businesses throughout the district to help keep us afloat so we need to make sure our decisions that we make fiscally does not affect the district in the long run.

As a current board member or if re-elected I will continue to make sure that as the students grow they will always be provided with all the resources needed as well as make sure that they are prepared for college or the workforce.   

Debbie Reidy

My name is Debbie Reidy. I am currently Board President and am running for my third term as a School Board member. After my retirement, I worked part time as an educational  consultant/ trainer for different school districts in the area. I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree from Marietta College and a Master’s Degree from University of Akron in Educational Administration.

I successfully ran for the Crestview School Board in 2015 and 2019. While on the Board, I have served as a Board liaison to the District Leadership Team, consisting of administrators and teachers. I have been the Board’s voting representative to the Ohio School Board Association’s annual conference. 

My desire to continue serving the Crestview community stems from my career as an educator both in teaching in southeastern Ohio and as an administrator for Crestview Middle School (3 years) and Crestview High School (12 years). My experience as both a teacher and building level principal has given me experience and knowledge in understanding current board policy and also serving as the Board’s representative, to revise and update current board policy to be in compliance with school law, as it is revised by the state legislators. I have served on negotiations teams as a teacher, principal, and board member. 

I continue a desire to serve the Crestview community as a board member as a way to give back to the school district. I read articles to stay up to date on new programs in areas that may benefit Crestview students. I am interested in continuing the traditions established in the community. I also look at the data on our students and to ask questions on how we can improve. 

I have supported all aspects of the school program through attendance at numerous events. This provides me with firsthand knowledge of our successes. We have many programs to be proud of at Crestview. Continued student growth is vital for all students. I will continue to explore and share ideas that will encourage student success both in school and whatever path they choose after graduation. Engaging the community in our schools continues to be a priority.  

A Board member’s responsibility is not to have individual action plans. Therefore, my  commitment as one of five board members is to work collectively in ensuring we follow our  adopted policies and diligently evaluate the Superintendent and Treasurer.  

My husband and I built our house in Clear Creek Township in 1997. We are both active  members of the Savannah-Crestview Lions Club. We have grown children in Illinois and  Cincinnati, and two grandchildren in college.  

I ask for your consideration and support as a candidate for the Crestview School Board of  Education when voting and know that my commitment to excellence in education is sincere. My experience will continue to assist the Board’s decisions in the future. I look forward to your support of my candidacy.

Evan Stuart

  • Name: Evan Stuart
  • Age: 18
  • Current occupation: I am currently a Marketing and communications intern at the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development. I am also the Marketing Manager at Healthy Transformation located in downtown Mansfield.
  • Educational attainment: I am a graduate of the Crestview Local School District. While in high school, I attained 26 college credits through the College Credit Plus (CCP) program. I am now continuing my education at North Central State College, where I will receive my Business Administration- Marketing degree.
  • Any prior experience as an elected official: I have held many leadership roles across many organizations before my candidacy. For the past two years, I have been honored to serve as the Richland County Junior Fair Board Vice President, which has prepared me for critical decision-making. I also served as the Crestview FFA President, which afforded me the ability to create relationships throughout the community. I was a Senior Class Officer and ultimately gave the class speech at graduation. Additionally, I have graduated from the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program in the Educational Policy cohort. These experiences combined allow me to work well under pressure, solve complex issues, and work with challenging individuals.
  • Any other details you believe are relevant: Communication, respect, and transparency are vital to making anything successful, and that is why those three things will always remain my priority.

I am interested in being part of the Crestview Board of Education because I feel responsible for giving back to my community. Our community deserves a board that will listen to them, respond to them, follow through with what they say they’re going to do, and follow up to ensure that they have helped to the best of their ability, no matter the situation. 

My experience and education have prepared me to have strong problem-solving skills that will be used on Crestview’s Board of Education. Another thing I am prepared for due to my experience is the ability to work with people I may only sometimes agree with to serve our community better. As a school board member, I believe people need to be more caught up in not working with people they disagree with and leave our community behind. Setting differences aside and working together is necessary for serving on the Board of Education, and I have demonstrated that skill many times in my experiences.

The Crestview Local School District’s greatest asset is the community that we live in and how quick we are to work together when there is a problem. Sadly, many communities don’t get to experience this to the extent that we do in the Crestview Local School District. The greatest challenge we face is that our community is shrinking, and we are losing generational stakeholders. 

My priority is working with community stakeholders to develop a better sense of communication between the school district and our community. This also includes better communication with the elected officials serving our community. The district will have more robust decision-making input with these communication channels open.

I am the sixth generation to live on my family’s farm here in the Crestview Local School District, which has instilled in me respect. The combination of being farm-raised and respect-driven creates a unique set of skills and experiences. These skills have earned me endorsements from State Senator Mark Romanchuk, Representative Marilyn John, and County Commissioner Tony Vero.