The Talawanda school board selected Matt Wyatt as its new member to fill the empty seat left by David Bothast.
In a special school board meeting Monday night, members reviewed 16 completed applications. After the private reviewing of applications between members, public participation and a decision followed. In a unanimous vote, the board selected Matt Wyatt to fill the 15-months left on the term.
Wyatt moved to Oxford in 2022 after his wife was hired at Miami University. Before moving to Oxford, Wyatt and his family lived in Elizabethtown, Kentucky where Wyatt served nearly 10 years on the Elizabethtown Independent Board of Education.
During his time on the school board in Kentucky, Wyatt and the board were able to raise the taxes to rebuild new buildings, sports facilities and put more funding into various programs. After just a few years, the district improved test scores, leading it to be one of the top 20 schools in the state, according to Wyatt.
Also during his time in the Kentucky school district, Wyatt and the board were able to get free and reduced lunch for elementary and middle school students, and a grant for high schoolers. Wyatt implemented a creative arts program and a coding program for elementary and middle school.
When his wife got the new position at Miami, Wyatt was happy not only for his spouse, but for new opportunities and change for himself in Oxford.
“I was glad to leave, you know, it’s kind of like 10 years for anything, a lot of stuff, and especially after COVID, I was done,” said Wyatt. “I got here and I was never gonna run for another office. I felt some day down the road, but never a school board.”
However, after a visit to Moon Co-Op, Wyatt stumbled upon the school board article by the Oxford Free Press newspaper. The article struck something in him, and when he got home, his wife urged him to apply. Wyatt sent in his application, but expected nothing to come from it.
“They sent an email saying there were 16 applicants,” Wyatt said. “I thought ‘Oh, my goodness,’ you know, I’m literally known by no one except my neighbors, people who work here.”
At the end of board meeting held Sept. 30, board member Chris Otto made a motion to choose Wyatt, which was seconded by member Pat Meade. In their discussion, all members agreed based on his experience, Wyatt was best to fill the role.
“Mr. Wyatt does have almost 10 years experience as a school board member at the Elizabethtown Independent Board of Education in Kentucky,” said board member Dawn King. “He obviously has experience to fill this role.”
Wyatt is excited and has many goals and plans for the district.
“I was really shocked. I mean, there are a few times in your life, and you’re like, ‘what is happening here?’ kind of thing, that was one of them,” Wyatt said.
“I’m gonna take the opportunity to use the skills and background that I have to do what I can for the 15 months, whether I run for the board seat or not,” Wyatt said. “I know that a lot could be done in 15 months, so I intend to hit the ground running and get to know all my board members.”
One of the first things Wyatt would like to do in his role is get to know the parents and community members. He said he hopes to listen and grasp the concerns of parents to see what he and the board can do. He also plans to look into the possibility of bussing restoration with the new revenue.
“I don’t want to go out on a limb and say we’re absolutely going to restore busing to beyond the state minimum,” said Wyatt. “But if the funding allows, that’s one of the first things I want to look at, because I am a parent of school children and I know the burden of when you take away something like busing has on people’s lives, and so that’s a concern.”
Wyatt said Talawanda has many amazing accomplishments and opportunities it should be proud of, such as the state scores and overall academics. He said he understands the challenges ahead, but recognizes the good spot Talawanda finds itself in.
“You get those two things in a district, funding is a little bit better, and academically, it’s going better than it’s been ever test score wise,” Wyatt said. “And then what you have to deal with is some other things that really have nothing to do with either one of those things. I think that’s not a bad position to be in as a board. Could be a heck of a lot worse, actually.”
Wyatt has much to look forward to as he fills this new role at Talawanda and continues his work as senior director of development at Farmer School of Business at Miami.
