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PARKERSBURG — With four candidates vying for three open seats for the Belpre City Schools Board of Education during the 2025 general election, the race was a close one with the third and fourth place candidates finishing only 31 votes apart.

Incumbent Mike Miller finished with the highest total tallying 744 votes and Fred Meredith, also an incumbent, finished second in voting with 735 votes.

“I’d like to thank the community for their support,” Meredith said Tuesday night. “Our students’ safety and academic future is just some of the vision for their new school and our community.”

Miller said he was very fortunate to get another chance to serve on the board.

“All of the candidates were very capable and would have done a wonderful job,” Miller said Tuesday night.

Mollie Haught, the third incumbent who was seeking her second term, finished with 634 votes, while newcomer Jordan Jewett finished with 603 votes.

Haught could not be reached for comment but Jewett thanked those who voted for her.

“Thank you to those who supported me and believed in my vision for the future of the schools,” Jewett said. “I know we are in good hands with the elected, experienced board members. It’s really a no-lose situation because they will continue doing what’s best for the schools and our community. I wish the Belpre School Board success in this next chapter.”

Incumbent Johnna Zalmanek was reelected to one of three open seats on the Fort Frye Local Board of Education. Rodney West was the top vote-getter with 781 votes, followed by Zalmanek with 708 and Joe Prieto with 629. Mary Weinstock received 376 votes. There were 552 write-in votes cast. Dawn Spurr was the only official write-in candidate, but they were not all necessarily for her.

Since part of the Fort Frye district extends into Morgan County, the votes received there included Prieto, 91, West, 57, Zalmanek, 47, Weinstock, 41, and Spurr yet to be determined.

Three new members were elected to the Frontier Local Board of Education with no incumbents running. Maggie D. McConnell and Jeanne Marie Kerns received 584 and 581 votes, respectively, while Brenda D. Wilson got 479. That should be enough to secure her the third seat over Rachele Slonaker, who received 424. Amanda Wolfe and Ivy Ferrell got 374 and 263 votes, respectively.

There were two seats on the ballot for the Wolf Creek Local Board of Education, won by Shawna M. Landaker with 498 votes and incumbent Scott R. Lang with 432. There were two official write-ins, Travis Schaad and Neil Huck, and a total of 340 write-in votes.

Four seats on the Warren Local Board of Education were unopposed. Three candidates, incumbent Bob Crum, Clifford Pettey and incumbent Bob Allen, a write-in, were unopposed in their bids for full four-year terms. Incumbent Stacy Greenup, appointed to the board in early 2024, was the only candidate running to complete that term.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.