Campbell enters race to be reelected to Marion County School Board

Marion County School Board Chair Allison Campbell on Oct. 2 filed to run for reelection in the 2024 general election to represent District 1.

Campbell has served on the school board since she was first elected in 2020. She said her motivation in serving as an elected official was to be the “voice of a parent” on the board.

“I wanted to ensure that there was a mother’s voice on the school board,” she said. “Having firsthand experience, day to day, for my own children and what they’re experiencing…those perspectives coming from a parent are incredibly valuable.”

The school board election is a non-partisan race. As of Oct. 4, no other candidates have filed to run for Campbell’s seat or any other school board seat.

Campbell has two children in high school and one in middle school in Marion County.

She recently earned her doctorate in strategic communication from Regent University and said that being a “lifelong learner” and an ally of education validates her passion for education and benefits her work as a school board member.

Campbell said she believes that one of the school board’s biggest accomplishments while she has been in office has been getting student representatives on the school board. Campbell said she brought the idea forward to the board, which they successfully made a reality over the last quarter.

“The student representative on the board, that’s something that we’ve never had before,” she said. “Their voices over the last quarter have shown the value of having that perspective actually sitting on the school board with us in a nonvoting capacity.”

While Campbell has been in office, the school board has also updated the interlocal agreement among the school board, county and its municipalities. The school board also increased the starting salary for teachers and created a plan to accommodate for high growth in the district in the coming years.

Campbell said that if reelected, one of the biggest issues she anticipates tackling will be the need for redistricting as new schools are built.

“As we bring a couple of new schools online and add these new wings on to other schools, we will have to redistrict all elementary schools in Marion County in the next three to four years,” she said.

Campbell also places a high priority on continuing to improve security and safety, starting with adding surveillance cameras and hardening measures in schools. She said there may also be a possibility for electronic entry points at schools across the district to increase safety.

“Marion County is a great place to live, work and play,” she said. “I think the more we tell that story, the more people will want to be here working with our students.”

Campbell currently serves as the school board chair. She said she is grateful for the opportunity to serve in that capacity and is grateful to the rest of the board for unanimously choosing her to do so.

As for now, she has set her sights on getting reelected and continuing her work.

“I feel like there’s still work to be done to bring us to the full vision of what we can be,” Campbell said. “I still believe I’m the voice to get it there.”