There will be no changes to the Lakeland Joint School District Board of Trustees after all three incumbents retained their seats after the election concluded on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
Randi Bain, Ramona Grissom, and Michelle Thompson guided the district through the Covid-19 era without requiring students, or staff, to wear masks, and did not force parents to provide proof of their child’s mRNA injection, like other districts tried to mandate.
Voter engagement was much higher this year, compared with the 2019 Election when Grissom, and Thompson, were first elected. In the 2019 Election, Bain lost to Rena Olmstead, the wife of a former Lakeland trustee, Kyle Olmstead, who tried to regain his old seat, running against Bain this time around. Bain was appointed to Olmstead’s seat after Rena resigned mid-term.
Thompson, who currently sits as Chair of the Board, increased her percentage win over her last election by almost 10 points, earning 63.05 percent of the vote. After winning her seat in 2019 with a slim 18-vote lead over her opponent, Thompson’s 597-vote split was an impressive feat in today’s political atmosphere.
Grissom garnered 537 more votes in 2023, and increased her percentage win by 6.5 points.
