Sester
One person has filed as a write-in candidate for Dave Thompson’s Clark-Pleasant school board seat in the Nov. 5 election.
Scott Setser, a local school bus driver and car dealership owner, was the only candidate to file. Dave Thompson had been serving on the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corp.’s school board since 2020 when he died on June 24 at the age of 74. He was Pleasant Township’s representative on the school board and served as its president last year.
In July, the board chose Franklin Township Elementary Principal Patrick Guilfoy to serve the remainder of Thompson’s seat. Guilfoy will hold the seat until the end of the term on Dec. 31 of this year.
If no candidate had filed, Guilfoy would have held the seat for the following four years, said Trena McLaughlin, Johnson County clerk.
Thompson had filed for reelection before he died but was not challenged. Thompson’s name was removed from the ballot and there will be no named candidate on the ballot because the deadline to file had passed before his death. However, there will be a spot to write in a candidate, McLaughlin said.
To vote for Setser, voters for the seat will have to manually enter his name, McLaughlin said. When voters select the office on their ballot, a keyboard will pop up on the voting machine screen where voters will be able to enter Setser’s name, she said.
Setser is a school bus driver for Perry-Meridian and Southport schools. He is also the owner of a Buy a Car Wholesale in Greenwood and Franklin.
He is a Center Grove High School graduate and a lifelong Johnson County resident. He’s worked for the White River Township Fire Department and formerly coached Franklin’s and Center Grove’s bowling teams, he said.
As a school bus driver, Setser believes that if he can make a difference in at least one child’s life, then he’s doing a good job. His priorities as a school board member are to improve safety for students, especially in the transportation department.
Setser hopes he can make a difference at Clark-Pleasant schools with the ongoing renovations and expansion. He believes that Clark-Pleasant is on track to be one of the biggest schools in Johnson County and hopes to help make a smooth transition as the student population grows, he said.
“I’m always here for any kid and their parents,” Setser said. “Whatever we can do to solve an issue, to make it better for the school and the parents. I know parents go through a lot. People live in a fast-paced lifestyle, they’re going in every direction. I’m one of those people and my kids are all grown.”
