Edison students power debate

MILAN — Candidates for the Edison Schools' board of education were charged up during a debate to kick off the Register's in-school debate series. On Sunday, about 100 stakeholders — including those residing in the district's voting boundaries of Milan, Milan Township, Berlin Heights and Berlin Township — filled Milan Town Hall to watch all seven hopefuls in this contested race. Whether an incumbent or a challenger, each person gave insight into his/her platforms and reasons for running. The board's race has seven contestants: incumbents Stephen Berry and James Suhanic, Samantha Limberios, who was recently appointed to fill a vacant board seat and is now running to retain that seat, and challengers Laura Dunn, Mark Harrington, William Muthig and Jacqui Rockwell. Many people helped make this debate possible: • The Greater Sandusky Partnership sponsored this event and others coming up in the in-schools debate series. • Milan Township officials provided the hall and other supplies at no cost. • Edison High School students participating in the Berlin Heights Kiwanis Club's speech and debate team powered this 80-minute program with questions. Young leaders got involved As in past debates overseen by the Register, students received an opportunity to ask questions mattering most to them, their peers, parents, families, friends and neighbors. For this debate, the Register involved students involved in the club's speech and debate team, a highly decorated organization that often wins awards and receives accolades locally and throughout Ohio. The club operates under the direction of Mike Amstutz, who also serves as the local Kiwanis club's president. Amstutz said this debate served as a "great opportunity" for those in attendance to figure out who's best suited to become and/or stay on as a school board member. Equally important, it also got the youth involved in a democratic process while preparing them for upcoming competitions. His team researched the debate, practiced questioning and interacted with the people, potential school board members, making decisions impacting their everyday lives. "We're looking at this as a unifying event to get the community on board and say 'Hey, we got great things going on here,'" Amstutz said. "Let's keep the ball moving in the right direction. Let's progress forward." Amstutz's students, including team president Ilah Reynolds, shared their excitement about this event. For Reynolds, she appreciated the chance to show community members what her team can do in a real-world setting, asking questions on topics important to them. "These are things that apply to not only me but also the future of the school district and the kids that are coming up," Reynolds said. "Their opportunities, the kind of environment that they're going to be in and the people they're going to be learning from, the quality of learning they're going to get in order to have opportunities in the future to go on and do bigger and better things." Elizabeth Butler, the team's historian, greatly anticipated hearing how the candidates viewed hot-button items that many community members want clarity on. This would include their views on transparency and whether a one-campus school is in Edison's future. "That's been a debate for a while, and I'd like to figure out what's going on," Butler said about the one-campus proposal. Jaylah Weaver, the club's debate captain, and Savannah Reiter, the team treasurer, agreed with Butler. They believe transparency and building projects are two of the top concerns within the district. "Transparency is something I care about because the community, parents and everyone deserve to know what's going on within school buildings and how things are rolling," Weaver said. Reiter said her concern for the buildings stems from her concern for student health. She said the buildings themselves are very old and the makeup of them can have a negative effect on the students' health later in their lives. Topics addressed Candidates answered student questions on a variety of topics, including district staffing, transparency, a one-campus facility, levy approvals, candidates' reasons for running and qualifications, community relations and candidates' five-year plans for the district. Catch up on what happened Sunday night with the Register's event coverage. A full recording of the about an hour and a half-long debate can also be found on the Register's YouTube channel. This was the first debate in the Register's in-schools debate series for 2025. The Register's next debate is scheduled for Tuesday at Perkins High School with the Perkins Township trustee candidates. This debate will not be open to the public but will be available to view in its entirety shortly afterward on sanduskyregister.com and the Register's YouTube channel. Like Edison's board candidates, The Register recently published individual question-and-answer news stories on each candidate who shared their reasons for running. Individual candidate stories can be found by clicking on these links: Incumbent Tim Colman Incumbent Jim Lang Challenger Lisa Crescimano Note: Print readers can search for the articles on sanduskyregister.com and norwalkreflector.com.