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Whitaker, Haltom take Cloverdale School Board seats
While a longtime educator will keep her seat on the Cloverdale School Board after Tuesday’s elections, a newcomer will succeed another when it convenes next January.
Vivian Whitaker defeated challenger Aragon Gould for the board’s four Cloverdale Township seats with 939 votes to Gould’s 600. Meanwhile, Emily Haltom accrued 905 total votes over Carol Anne Pennington’s 586 for the Taylor Township seat.
The Cloverdale school district is composed of Cloverdale Township as well as Jackson, Jennings and Taylor townships in Owen County. While individual seats represent different townships, the entire district votes on the board’s members.
Duane Huge, who has served on the board since 2011, is retiring from the Taylor Township seat.
No candidate filed for the Jennings Township seat held by Arvel Hinton. Hinton may keep his seat or retire, in which case the board would select his replacement.
Pleased with the results and looking forward to another term, Whitaker related Wednesday that her re-running was for continuity with three potential new members. She commended Gould, as well as Haltom and Pennington, for taking part and running clean campaigns.
“I’m looking forward to building positive relations with the board and all of the faculty,” Whitaker told the Banner Graphic, referencing raises and building course offerings and programs like Leader in Me and pre-school.
A member since 2014’s elections, Whitaker emphasized the board continuing to be solid, and be able to work together with teachers, staff and administrators.
For her part, Haltom was honest about coming onto the board and learning much about its functions. She has otherwise taught at Cloverdale in an emergency capacity and served on the Owen County Public Library’s board of trustees.
A stay-at-home mom and currently the treasurer of the parent-teacher association at Cloverdale, Haltom is excited to serve on the school board and support growth overall.
“I’m gonna do my very best to help our school and our community any way I can,” Haltom told the Banner Graphic. “I really look forward to serving and doing my part.”