A candidate with thousands of dollars in support from a national political action committee was soundly defeated by a local parent Tuesday in a race for a seat on the Washington Township school board.
The local school board race drew wide attention after a teacher running for office received $31,000 in donations from a single PAC — far more than candidates in the district of 11,000 students typically spend.
But it turned out, the influx of cash wasn’t enough to win Deitric Hall a seat on the board. John Fencl — an accountant, Washington Township parent and volunteer — won the race easily with 69.8 percent of the vote.
(Read more: PAC tied to Teach For America spends big on a local Indiana election, but no one quite knows why.)
Hall, who moved to Indianapolis for a teaching position with Teach for America, received the donations from the Indiana branch of Leadership for Educational Equity, a national PAC that supports Teach for America alumni who seek public office.
The unexpectedly large contributions to Hall’s campaign inspired a backlash, including a column from a high school student and a burst of additional donations to Fencl’s campaign.
While the campaign for the district-wide seat in Washington Township drew attention, candidates faced off in school board races across Marion County.
Here are the school board winners for Marion County townships and small cities (here are the IPS results):
Beech Grove
Beth Prindle
Decatur Township
At-large: Thomas Wiseman
District 2: Larry Taylor
Franklin Township
Northwest: Judith L. Shore
Southwest: Kelly Foulk
Lawrence Township
At-large: Shawn Denney
District 1: Wendy Muston
District 3: Carol K. Helmus
Perry Township
At-large: Emily R. Hartman
At-large: Steven Johnson
At-large: Charles R. Mercer
At-large: Kenneth J. Mertz
Pike Township
At-large: Veronica (Roni) Ford
At-large: Eric Huffine
At-large: Larry J. Metzler
At-large: Cherlisa M. Richardson
Warren Township
At-large: Julie French
At-large: Randy George
At-large: Lynn Matchett
At-large: Gloria Williams
Washington Township
At-large: John Fencl
District 1: Wanda Spann Roddy
District 3: Anthony S. (tony) Dzwonar
Wayne Township
At-large: Shirley Deckard
At-large: Phyllis Lewis
At-large: Patricia J. (Trish) Logan