Haynes selected to replace Nuernberger on Medford board

Out of a field of five applicants, Heidi Haynes of Medford was selected to fill a vacancy on the Medford school board created by the resignation of Jodi Nuernberger.

At Monday’s school board meeting, it took two rounds of voting for a majority of Medford Area Public Schools board members to select Haynes from a pool of five applicants.

In addition to Haynes, applicants included Ben Koch, Charles Prihoda, Taylor Kent and Monelle Johnson. When Nuernberger formally announced plans to step down from the board at last month’s meeting, it started a process spelled out by state law and local district policies to find her replacement.

The district advertised for those interested the position to submit a letter of introduction. At Monday’s meeting, each applicant was given a chance to tell the board and those in attendance about themselves and what they feel they can bring to the board. While there was an opportunity for board members to ask questions, no one chose to do so.

In her letter to the board, Haynes wrote: “My name is Heidi Haynes and I am 41 years old, married with two children and two stepchildren. I was approached by a couple of friends to see if I would be interested in joining the school board. That led to my husband and family encouraging me to apply. Honestly, it was not anything I have ever considered before. I listen to the recap on the radio after the meetings and read the paper about what is happening but to personally join was not something I thought of. In the past week of going back and forth with the pros and cons, I was excited to learn more. I went on the school’s website and read the minutes for the past year’s meetings.

The school board position allows me to use my skills and have a meaningful impact in my community. My children will be in school for many more years, and I want to play an active role in shaping some of what happens. I heard the school board can be time consuming but also very rewarding. I feel like I would be a good fit and would like to focus on the needs of the students. I want to listen to our community and hear their views and needs. As a parent, I feel the need to continue to focus on mental health and bullying is something I would strongly like to have an active role in. I started the Survivors of Suicide Support Group in Medford that meets once a month. With the help of the Taylor County Health Department promoting the group we have been able to help bring people together in a safe place to talk and help heal.

I have been on the church council at St. Paul’s since 2021 and as of 2025 I am the council president. I feel there are some similarities with running the church and school board. I feel like in the end you want everyone to be heard but ultimately do what is best for the church or the school. There are rules and procedures to follow with both. I work at Nestle and have been here for around 12 years. My job responsibilities have evolved while I have been here with increasing responsibilities. I manage their Company Store as well as their administrative assistant duties. I am responsible for many different areas. From getting things set and ready for guests when they come to town to ordering supplies for the different departments. I am organized and able to work well with a team for a common goal.

I think that the role of the school board should set the overall vision and policies while the District Administrator carries out the day-to-day aspects of that. While everyone works together with a shared vision for the district’s success.”

Ben Koch ran as a candidate for school board this past April and received approixiately 2,000 votes. “A good portion of the community wants to see me in that role,” he said. His qualifications included 10 years of working with mental health with teenagers and young people and as operations director of a business with a budget of over $100,000 and a Master’s Degree in outdoor education.

Charles Prihoda is a retired educator who is active as a substitute teacher within the district. He said the challenge for the board is not just selecting the best person to fill the vacancy, but the person who will be the best fit for the school board. He said his direct experience in the classroom and with people who are still working in the classroom setting could provide insight to the board.

Taylor Kent said she is passionate about the future of the schools. While she is a licensed teacher, she currently works at Advocate Aurora Health, a non-profit, faith-based health care system. She said this dual background would be helpful for the challenges facing the district. “I believe public education is the most impactful investment a community can make,” she said.

Monelle Johnson noted she has been a member of the Medford community for over 40 years and during that time has been involved with many different activities and on numerous boards. She noted that all five candidates were highly qualified. She said the trait she could bring to the board is common sense.

“We have five great candidates to choose from, you can’t go wrong,” said board president Dave Fleegel before the start of the voting. State law required the voting to fill board vacancies to be done in the open. Following their roll call order, board members were called on to announce their choice. After the first round, the top vote-getters advanced to a second round. That second round of voting included Koch, Haynes and Kent. Ultimately Haynes received five out of nine votes to secure the seat.

Board member John Zuleger praised all those who submitted letters of interest. He noted that typically during annual board elections, the district might only get one more person than incumbents to run.

“I would encourage all of you to run again,” Zuleger said. Fleegel echoed that sentiment noting there is a board election every year and candidates are welcome.