The four State Board of Education seats up for election this year are finalized following Tuesday night’s results.
The only competitive race Tuesday night was in District 5, which encompasses 18 counties in southeastern Nebraska, including a portion of Lancaster. Republican Angie Eberspacher and Democrat Michaela Conway pulled ahead to beat out Republican Lana Daws.
Eberspacher, a Beaver Crossing ag producer who has a degree in education, took home 46% of the vote in the District 5 race. Conway, a Crete Public Schools Board of Education member, followed behind with 31% of the vote, and Daws, a retired elementary school principal, finished with 23% of the vote.
Eberspacher’s priorities include advocating for parents and promoting fiscal responsibility. Conway is running with a focus on academics and literacy, retaining teachers and student mental health, among other priorities listed on her campaign website. She has a background in business management.
Eberspacher and Conway seek to replace Republican Kirk Penner, who didn’t seek reelection. He’s led the conservative charge on issues such as what material should be allowed in public school libraries and hasn’t held back on calling out school districts, such as Omaha Public Schools, when it comes to school funding. Penner accused the school district in December of stealing money when the board discovered OPS received millions of dollars in overpayments.
Eberspacher received endorsements from the four Republican members of the State Board of Education, including Penner.
The State Board of Education is an officially nonpartisan board with eight members who vote on the work of the Nebraska Department of Education. Although the board itself is non-partisan, there are four Republicans and four Democrats currently representing the eight districts across the state. Board members have been split over the past two years on several topics, including mental health grants and a menstrual product program.
Members also debated an Omaha-area learning community plan because of an organization included in the plan that provides transgender care outside of its work with the learning community. That plan ended up passing after one member abstained from voting.
District 6
District 6, which covers more than a dozen counties in the eastern half of the state including Hall, Boone, Antelope, Wayne and Thurston counties, will also see a Republican and Democrat on the November ticket.
Current District 6 board member Sherry Jones is running for reelection. Jones is a registered Republican from Grand Island who was elected to the board in 2022. She was a teacher for 35 years in Grand Island Public Schools before retiring. On the state board website, it says ‘Jones wants to be a conservative voice on the State Board of Education.
Grady Erickson, a registered Democrat, is an attorney in Grand Island. Erickson comes from a long line of educators and is married to an educator. He plans to use his legal background to make fair, balanced, independent decisions, according to his website.
Since Jones and Erickson were the only two candidates vying for the seat, both advanced to the general election in November. Jones received 64% of the primary vote while Erikson received 36%.
District 7
Incumbent Elizabeth Tegtmeier, a registered Republican, is the sole candidate running for the District 7 seat. Tegtmeier is a former teacher at North Platte Public Schools. She has been representing District 7 since 2022.
District 7 covers over half the state in western Nebraska. According to her campaign website, Tegtmeier wants to continue prioritizing parental involvement in education decisions, academics and fiscal responsibility.
District 8
Current District 8 representative Deborah Neary chose not to run for reelection, leaving her seat in central Douglas County up for grabs. Only two candidates are campaigning for the seat, meaning both advanced to the general election later this year.
Sherrye Hutcherson, who is registered as nonpartisan and endorsed by the Democratic party, is the executive vice president at Bellevue University. Hutcherson is endorsed by Neary and two other State Board of Education members. She has a wide variety of goals including addressing the teacher shortage, reducing chronic absenteeism, and focusing on literacy and graduation rates.
Lou Ann Goding, a registered Republican, is a former board president of Omaha Public Schools. Goding is endorsed by the former State Board of Education President John Witzel. Her campaign goals include improving education outcomes and closing the graduation vs proficiency gap.
Election results showed that District 8 might be a close race, with Hutcherson collecting 51% of the vote, compared to Goding’s 49%. Hutcherson led the race Wednesday morning by just 1,000 votes.
The general election will be held Nov. 8.