The Southwest school board will see no changes as a result of the April 4 election, with incumbents Doug Henry, Ruth (Doke) Henderson and Terry Meek defeating two challengers to retain their posts.

Of the 854 votes cast in five Barry County precincts and one McDonald County precinct, Henry received 224 votes, Henderson received 205 and Meek received 197. Challengers Megan Shrum and Gayla Hall received 167 And 91 votes, respectively.

Entering his third term on the board, Henry said he was happy to be re-elected, no matter the margin.

“It was pretty close,” he said. “There are a lot of projects and things you do on a school board that take more than one term, so you try to see a lot of them through. when you get something started, you don’t want to quit.

“To be on the school board, you have to be a service-type person able to take complaints and praise, and it’s one of the biggest things you can do for a small community. It’s not just Washburn, but Seligman and the rural areas, too. And, you get to know the students and teachers and be a part of the school project.”

Meek, also entering his third term, said he felt good about how the election went.

“As always, I had some new, other people running against me, and I felt good about it,” he said. “In the past, everything has been run well, and things on the board are going OK. Teachers are happy, and students are getting everything they need.

“I’ve seen things progress through my terms, and obviously, there was a structure there before me, but I’m excited to continue on and do what’s best for the kids, teachers and district. Thank you for getting out to vote.”

Shrum said as a first-time candidate, the race went well, and she would make some changes if she files again.

“I feel it went well, and if I do pursue a seat again, I would campaign more faceto- face instead of on social media,” she said. “I knew it would be tough to beat the three up for re-election, but I thought can’t help make changes within the school if I don’t run for school board.”

Hall, also a first-time candidate, said she is content with the result, and she will continue to push forward.

“Would I have liked to get more votes? Absolutely,” she said. “But, am I disappointed? No. All the people on the board who won are good, upstanding people who have served for a long time, and Megan and I have been friends for a long time. I have a lot of ideas and was approached to run last year to see what I could do.”

To that end, Hall said she is likely to go for a spot again.

“Yes [I would run again],” she said. “Why not? I am also not as well known, and this race had two deputies and Ruth, who drove a bus for several years. I think I have some ideas that need to be heard. I have a daughter who is a junior, and there are some things we could do to make student life better. Change is the only constant in life, and not knocking anyone on the board, sometimes new ideas are hard to come up with.”

Hall added she would have liked to see more people exercise their voting rights, as 1,009 votes were cast in the 2022 election.

“I would have definitely liked to see as many people out to vote as they did for school board last time,” she said. “I don’t feel like it was talked about as much, even though we did have the school bond project last year too.

“Make a point to get out and vote. Most people get a couple of hours paid time off to go vote, and I’d like to see more people in the community get involved.”

Countywide voter turnout was at 10.96 percent, and turnout in Southwest’s Barry and McDonald County precincts was 27.1 percent. The Cassville school district, by comparison, which also had a bond issue on the ballot this year, saw a 37.2 percent turnout.

Henderson did not return a message left for comment.