Park Hill will see a new, fresh, young face on its Board of Education — the youngest the District has ever had.
Matt Pepper, 26, a business property manager who has also served as a freelance reporter/columnist for The Citizen the past four years, claimed incumbent Todd Burr’s two-year seat by defeating Burr 45 to 33 percent. Another challenger, Josh Blackman, took 21 percent of the vote.
“I think as a younger person and a former student I was able to introduce a new group of voters that care about the District, but have never been involved electorally or any other way,” Pepper said Tuesday night. “I think a lot of the Park Hill voters appreciate the energy and the hard work I put in to earn their vote and their trust... I hope that, with the election out of the way now, the District can begin to look toward the future. There are a lot of opportunities for our District and I’m excited to get to work on them.”
In addition to being a graduate of the District, Pepper has stayed involved as an alumnus, organizing several alumni events that raised money for student scholarships and maintaining relationships with his former teachers, administration and coaches.
Park Hill also saw its three other seats up for election retained by incumbents. Susan Newburger and Todd Fane will be back for three-year terms while Chris Seufert, who was appointed to a vacant spot last year to serve until the election, was elected to fill the remaining one-year of the term.