ONAWAY — Controversy and contention have drawn 14 people into four races for six school board seats in Onaway Area Schools, a district of fewer than 550 students.

Eight people — incumbents Lorrie Kowalski and James Rieger, along with James Gibson, Tom Moran, Stacey Porter, Taed Price, John Kaszonyi, and Kathleen Christian — each seek one of three seats open for full six-year terms.

Meanwhile, incumbent Annette Porter faces challenger Sheri LaFave for a partial term ending New Year’s Eve 2026, incumbent Joe Bonnard faces challenger Jeremy Veal for a partial term ending New Year’s Eve 2028, and incumbent John Palmer is defending his seat against challenger Lain Veihl for a partial term ending New Year’s Eve 2026 in a race triggered by a recall.

School boards are nonpartisan. Terms begin New Year’s Day.

Election Day is Nov. 5, but many people have already started voting absentee.

The Onaway school board has for years seen infighting and controversy over a number of issues, leading earlier this year to the resignation of the district’s superintendent, a longtime principal, and a school board trustee all at the same meeting. The now-former superintendent, Mindy Horn, cited chaos on the board as one of the reasons she decided to step down.

Numerous Onaway school board candidates told The News they’re running to try to bring calm and normalcy to the district.

“They need to look at this through one lens, and that’s it: You work for the kids, you work for the teachers, you work for the community,” Gibson said, echoing the sentiments of many of his fellow candidates. “You don’t follow some political ideology or platform, because that has no business, in my opinion, in education.”

The candidates also talked about improving academics in the district, upgrading infrastructure at the school building (voters rejected two Onaway bond proposals last year), and doing more to stop bullying.

FULL SIX-YEAR TERM

Christian, a Ford Motor Co. retiree who now works cleaning jobs, said she’d like to see the district improve standardized test scores, pass a bond issue to upgrade the school building’s heating and cooling system, and expand its offerings in skilled trade courses.

“They’ve got a lot of stuff on the table now,” Christian said. “It’s just keep moving in a positive direction.”

Gibson, former chief of the Onaway police force the city eliminated in 2013, said the district needs to upgrade its infrastructure but said his main reason for running “is getting the board … back on track.

“This is a nonpartisan position, and I think that’s the mindset the board members need to have going into this,” he said.

Kaszonyi, a retired former interim superintendent turned farmer who served on the Atlanta school board before moving to Onaway, said the district needs to try to pass a bond proposal to fix its heating and cooling system, add courses in trades and home economics, and support the superintendent.

Kaszonyi said he wants to “just maintain a good, supportive position and be aware of emerging trends and emerging laws affecting school, make sure our policies are in line,” he said.

Kowalski, a substitute teacher, said she’d like to see the district attract more students to attend Onaway schools. She said things are going well in the district.

“I think we’re headed in the right direction, for sure,” she said. “Are we perfect? No. But are we headed in the right direction? Yes.”

Moran, a welder and the founder of Moran Iron Works, said his biggest goal is ending polarization on the board.

“I really think that the school is solid as a rock and the teachers and administration are probably the most professional we’ve ever had,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is the board itself.”

Stacey Porter, a restaurant manager, said fixing the heating and cooling system should be the district’s top priority, but she’d also like to see the board address mental health issues and bullying within the district.

“There are different ideas that I have that I haven’t brought to the board, yet,” Porter said. “There’s different programs. I do think we need to seek out a counselor. We need to find a way to come up with the funds for one of those.”

Price, an IT specialist, said the district must address its infrastructure needs and the board must find a way to work together so it can rebuild relationships with the community.

“I would like to see more parental involvement,” he said. “I’d like to see some tutoring down the line — high schoolers working with middle schoolers, middle schoolers working with the elementary students — just to make it a cohesive community unit.”

Rieger did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

PARTIAL TERM

ENDING 2026

LaFave, who is disabled but called herself “a colossal volunteer,” said the district must pass a limited bond sale to raise funds to upgrade the district’s infrastructure and must improve test scores and grade-point averages.

“We need to focus more on getting our kids out of school and life after school versus the drama and the nonsense that’s going on right now that really doesn’t have a thing to do with life after school,” she said. “We’ve gotta be focused and we’ve gotta remember what our job is.”

Annette Porter, a probation officer who runs a veterans treatment court, called ending division on the board her top priority, along with increasing transparency among board members and with the community.

“With me, I’ve always been upfront and honest,” she said. “There’s no political gain. There’s no agenda. My goal is just that every child in that school is treated equally and has the best education possible.”

PARTIAL TERM

ENDING 2028

Neither Bonnard nor Veal responded to multiple requests for an interview.

RECALL ELECTION

Veihl, a paramedic, said Onaway has had some issues with truancy, and he believes replacing the district’s outdated heating and cooling system would help with that by making the school more comfortable for students. He also said he’d like to improve relationships among board members and between the district and the community.

“There seems to be a lot of tension in the community,” he said. “I think we’re living in a time where, if we disagree with each other, we’re not able to move forward, anymore, and I think that’s a disservice to our children.”

Palmer did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 989-354-3112 or jhinkley@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley.