When two new board members are sworn in on the Fort Frye Local Board of Education in January, the board will have a majority of female members for the first time and be the rare exception in an area where few women serve in that capacity.
Two Washington County boards of education, Wolf Creek and Frontier, have no female members while the other four districts currently have only one woman each on their five-person boards.
It's not just the local elected positions in education that have fewer women serving and running. Village and city councils throughout the county have significantly fewer women than men and of 66 township trustees in Washington County, only one is a woman.
"It's something that I'm proud of, that our board will have three women," said Johnna Zalmanek, of Lower Salem, who was elected in November to her first term on the Fort Frye Board of Education. "I definitely don't think it's going to be women against men in any way, but I do think it's a good thing to have a mix. I believe women bring a different perspective."
David White, who is about to begin his 34th year on the Fort Frye board, said he welcomes the change.
He can remember a number of years when he was first on the board when there were no women as representatives, and since the first was elected, there has only been one at a time.
"I think this will be really good for our board," he said. "I'm happy with it. Ladies can do the job just as well, and I think those doors are starting to open for them all over."
Marietta College leadership professor Tanya Judd Pucella said cultural shifts have made a difference in the number of women holding elected office, but these days it's the women themselves who often keep themselves out of the positions.
"We're still entrenched in the mindset that the female is the primary person who keeps a family on track," she said. "A lot of women know it's important for the community to hold these positions and that it's for the good of the community, but they can't bring themselves to sacrifice the family time. It's still a tougher sell for females than males."
Current Fort Frye board member Tammy Bates said she feels it is a struggle for mothers to make the decision to serve.
"I had to make the time," she said. "I'm not one to sit and complain if I don't like something - I'm going to get involved. You have to take the time to do this to make things better for your kids and all the kids."
Zalmanek, a mom of two, said being a mother is likely what makes most female board of education members interested in the position and yet also the No. 1 thing that may keep them from running.
"Being a mom, you feel like you're really in touch with what the students and teachers are doing day to day and it's a great perspective to bring," Zalmanek said. "But a lot of moms are already just overwhelmed with every obligation they have. Stay-at-home moms are over-committed with volunteering, and working moms are automatically over-committed and just trying to find a balance."
In bigger cities, where positions like board of education members are full-time jobs, more women can be found holding those positions, said Pucella, because it doesn't take additional time from the family.
"In a small town, for women to do that, they probably have a job, their family and then this would be like another job," she said.
It is important to have a mix of men and women representing voters, though, said Pucella.
"It's critically important because to be a truly representative society we need both," she said. "Men and women do look at things differently even though one is not right or wrong. It's all of our responsibilities to step up."
Debbie West, who is currently the sole woman on the Warren Local Board of Education, said the imbalance has never bothered her because she feels the board has a good mix of members in other ways, including where in the district the members live and their career specializations.
"I don't feel out there by myself by any means," West said. "I think having more women might bring us more well-rounded opinions to different issues, but I think we have women participating a lot in our school system even if they're not on the board."
Bates, who will be one of three women on the Fort Frye board in January, along with newly elected Zalmanek and Lisa Perry, of Lowell, said the gender of the board members isn't something she's ever really thought about.
"I hold my own," she said. "And (the other members) have never made me feel they weren't going to listen or weren't open to what I had to bring to the table."
Even though the Fort Frye board will soon make men the minority, Zalmanek said she's well aware that's not the norm.
Attending an Ohio School Boards Association conference recently, she was by far the exception, she said.
"It was mostly men, and I would like to see more women involved," she said. "I felt like there was a need and there was something I could contribute because our kids deserve the best education they can get. Sometimes you just have to step up."
