LEBANON — Though five candidates filed for three open seats on the Lebanon School Board, the race is no longer contested after two competitors dropped out.
Three current board members — Vice Chairwoman Martha DiDomenico and board members Mary Edes and Wendy Hall — are not running for reelection, leaving their seats up for grabs in March 11 elections.
But, a crowded field narrowed this week after Travis Talbert and Kaitlyn Ramos decided not to run. All five candidates are still listed on the Lebanon school ballot.
Talbert has decided that he’ll focus on opening a food cart in Lebanon this spring, he said in an email to the Valley News.
Ramos also filed for a board seat, but did not appear at a candidates’ night hosted by the Upper Valley Business Alliance last week. Ramos told the alliance that she was not running before the event, Business Alliance Director Tracy Hutchins said via email. Ramos did not say why she had dropped out. She did not respond to requests for comment.
Those still actively running for the office are: Joseph Castelot, Kerry O’Hara and Laila Volle.
All three would be serving their first, three-year term, joining current Chairwoman Lilian Maughan and members Kevin Schutz, Tia Winter, Jessica Saturley-Hall, John D’Entremont and Richard Ford Burley on the nine-member board.
Castelot, 35, is the director of the student center at Dartmouth College and has lived in Lebanon since 2015. He currently has one child in the school district and another who will be in kindergarten in Lebanon in 2026. When Castelot was moving to the area, he said a motivating factor was the quality public school system.
As a School Board member, Castelot said his primary areas of focus will include funding changes at the state level “which will push the responsibility for funding important programs to our local community,” including special education. His other primary concern is “accessibility and the mental well-being of students.”
In general, Castelot said he sees joining the board as a way to give back to the community. From working at Dartmouth, he said he has experience creating “an environment where our students are able to get the most out of their educational experience.”
Previously, Castelot was the third and fourth grade boys lacrosse coach at Mount Lebanon School and served on the district’s strategic plan committee.
O’Hara, 36, grew up in Lebanon and attended Lebanon public schools. She has two kids in the district, as well as two younger children. She is a nurse practitioner at Collaborative Solutions in Vermont, which offers residential care for people with chronic mental illness.
O’Hara wants to work collaboratively with teachers in the district to understand how the board can meet their needs, especially with providing student-centered learnin, she said.
“That can mean different things for different people, so (it’s) learning how we can support all of the different individuals in the school,” O’Hara said. “I would love to work collaboratively with our teachers, as they’re the people that know best and work with the kids every day.”
Because of her professional background, O’Hara said she is also focused on the “wellness and mental aspects of our kids as they grow,” and would like to work on implementing more bullying prevention programs.
O’Hara is also a member of the Hanover Street School Parent Teacher Organization and participates in Four Winds, a program where parents teach science lessons to their children’s classes once a month.
Volle, 33, said her family moved to the area four years ago “because of the outstanding public school system.”
She has a daughter in kindergarten at Hanover Street School, as well as two younger children. She is a stay-at-home mom, and a freelance screenwriter and voice actor.
“I hope as a member of our School Board to support our teachers, advocate for our students and guarantee an excellent education,” Volle said.
As a board member, Volle said she would support critical programs like “arts education and STEM opportunities” and allow the district’s teachers to guide the board on how it can best support them.
“I’m pretty passionate about public school,” Volle said. “I grew up in a public school system, as did my husband, and the quality of the Lebanon district really speaks so highly of the teachers.”
She is currently a member of the Parent Teacher Organization at Hanover Street School and that involvement made her want to “dive even deeper” into the district.
Lebanon school ballot voting is Tuesday, March 11 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ward 1 residents will vote at the SAU 88 Administrative Office, 20 Seminary Hill Road. Ward 2 residents will vote at the United Methodist Church, 18 School St. Ward 3 residents will vote at City Hall, 51 North Park St.
Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.
