Here's who's running for school board in Evansville's 2024 general election

EVANSVILLE — Deadlines came early this year for community members hoping to run for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Board of Trustees, but voters will still have a contested race in one of the districts.

This year, seats representing District 1 and District 3 are up for election. But District 1 is already settled − only one candidate, incumbent Karen Ragland, filed her candidacy.

Without an opponent, Ragland is set to start her 21st year on school board on Jan. 1. She'll continue to represent District 1 with Chris Kiefer, who was re-elected to the board in 2022.

In District 3, two seats are available and three candidates filed to appear on the ballot.

Only one incumbent has filed to run. The Rev. Terry Gamblin, pastor of Howell General Baptist Church, has been on the school board for 36 years. The other District 3 seat is held by Amy Word who has been on an unpaid leave of absence from the school board since her July 2022 arrest on a felony charge of maintaining a common nuisance, linked to an investigation into alleged drug use and dealing at a restaurant she formerly owned.

The first newcomer to the race is Amy DeVries, who works as the development and communications coordinator at Pro Bono Indiana. The third candidate is Joshua Barnett.

In Indiana, school board races are nonpartisan, so voters in November will need to remember to not vote straight ticket if they want to make a selection for school board.

The deadline to file for school board was earlier this year due to a new law passed by the Indiana Legislature. Those wanting to file to run were able to start doing so the day voter registration began after the primary election, May 21, and do so for 30 days after.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Here's who's on the 2024 ballot for school board in Evansville