The Olentangy Local Schools Board of Education held an organizational meeting Tuesday evening to solidify changes to the board. Two new members — Kevin Daberkow and Brandon Lester — were sworn in to begin their first terms after being elected in November, while a new president and vice president were also elected to lead the board.

Lester and Daberkow received 26.75 and 26.59% of the 38,993 votes cast during the November election, respectively, to narrowly win seats. They replace two outgoing board members in Julie Wagner Feasel and Dave King who, prior to their terms expiring at the end of last year, represented the longest-tenured members of the board.

Following Lester and Daberkow’s oaths, the board voted to elect Kevin O’Brien to serve as the next president, replacing Feasel. O’Brien was first appointed to the board in 2010 to fill an unexpired term and was most recently reelected in 2019. His current term runs through the end of 2023.

Prior to the election of Lester and Daberkow, LaKesha Wyse represented the most recent newcomer to the board, having been elected to her first term in 2019. On Tuesday, she was selected by the board to serve as vice president for the upcoming year, her first stint as either president or vice president of the board. The position was most recently filled by King.

In addition to the changes to the board, a new Olentangy representative on the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) Board of Education was also approved. Wagner Feasel had served in the role since 2010 before announcing she was stepping away at the end of 2020. Mindy Patrick was selected by her fellow Olentangy board members to replace Wagner Feasel on the DACC BOE in December of 2020, and during Tuesday’s meeting, she was appointed to serve a three-year term.

Patrick was also appointed by the board to serve a one-year term on the Ohio School Boards Association Board of Trustees.