This article is part of the 2025 General Election Voters' Guide produced in partnership with the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area.

Jim Borchik

Nonpartisan

Education: BA Denison University   MA Bowling Green State University

X (formerly Twitter): @jimborchik

Training/Experience: 1993-2016 Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Copley High School,  2017-2025 BOE member

Campaign phone: 330-351-4128

Campaign email address: james.borchik@copley-fairlawn.org

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

I have served the Copley-Fairlawn City School District for the past 31 years, including 23 years as Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Copley High School, and eight years on the Copley-Fairlawn Board of Education.  I have lived in Copley since 1994, and all four of my sons attended the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools.

What are the most significant issues facing the school district and what ideas do you have to address these issues?

Major issues facing public education today involve funding, including reductions in property taxes and the redirection of funds to non-public school students via voucher programs. We, as school board members, must be fiscally responsible with the public’s money, as we recently demonstrated with the 2022 permanent improvement building levy. Since the likelihood that we will see our limited funds continue to diminish, we must focus on prioritizing our spending on student growth and development.

What ideas do you have for ensuring safety in your school district?

As a member of the Board of Education, I have overseen the redesign of our school entrances and the hiring of full-time Resource Officers. We maintain ongoing collaboration with the Copley, Fairlawn, and Bath Police to ensure our school safety procedures are current and effective.

What action, if any, do you believe the Board of Education should take to support all students and ensure they are provided with a high-quality, meaningful education?  

My desire has always been to ensure that every child receives the same quality education my own sons received.  It is our collective responsibility to guarantee that all students have access to a high-quality education. This requires a systemic commitment to provide the necessary resources, including elevating teacher expertise through ongoing professional development and ensuring that all schools have modern facilities and updated learning supplies.

Beth Hertz

Education: Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Bowling Green State University, 1989

Training/experience: I have more than 35 years of experience as a professional communicator. I currently am a public relations manager at Cleveland Clinic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HertzForSchoolBoard

Campaign phone: 330-607-7477

Previous public office: I have been on this school board since January 2022.

Campaign email address: beth.hertz@gmail.com

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

I have proudly served on the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools Board of Education for the past four years, including as board president this year. Before being elected to the board, I spent 14 years as a parent-leader in the district – serving as president of the Arrowhead Primary School PTA, the Copley-Fairlawn Middle School PTA, the district’s PTA Council and Copley Music Boosters – while also volunteering with Science Olympiad, Girl Scouts, swim team, and more.

These experiences have given me a deep understanding of our district and strong relationships with administrators, parents, teachers, and community members. I strive to represent all stakeholders and ensure decisions are made in the best interests of all of our students.

What are the most significant issues facing the school district and what ideas do you have to address these issues?

Like many districts nationwide, we’re seeing some younger students struggle with classroom expectations after an atypical early childhood caused by the pandemic. We have invested significant resources to support these students and are committed to continuing those efforts.

Also, today’s students face a very different social environment than previous generations, and we know children can’t thrive academically if their mental health needs aren’t met. The district needs to continue the high level of mental health support that has been implemented in recent years.

What ideas do you have for ensuring safety in your school district?

Safety is our highest priority. We currently have a police officer in every building every day. While this represents a significant expense for the district, we believe it is worth it – both for deterring violence and for being prepared to respond quickly if an incident does occur.

We also know that mental health is an important part of the safety equation. We have made proactive investments in counselors, psychologists, peer mentoring, and support groups, because when students have access to mental health resources and feel supported and included, it benefits everyone and helps create a safer, healthier school environment.

What action, if any, do you believe the Board of Education should take to support all students and ensure they are provided with a high-quality, meaningful education?

My two children had outstanding experiences in this district  –  learning from excellent teachers and participating in sports, the arts, and other activities. I’m committed to ensuring all of our students have similar opportunities to explore their interests, discover their talents, and begin developing their life goals.

Stephen M. Coon

Nonpartisan

Education: Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of  Science in School Administration

Training/experience: 30+ Years – Middle School Teacher (Copley-Fairlawn School District)

Previous public office: 4 Years Copley-Fairlawn Board of Education Member (President –  2 Years)

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

I was born and raised in the Copley-Fairlawn District, as were my parents as well as my grandparents.  Both of our children (now teachers) attended the C-F Schools.  My wife and I both taught and coached in the school district for 30+ years.  Additionally I served on our Board of Education for 4 years from 2020-24, including 2 years  as president.  My wife and I both currently substitute at the high school, and I have coached for the district the last 2 years.  I believe that my experience having grown up, taught, coached, and lead in the district sets me apart from other candidates.

What are the most significant issues facing the school district and what ideas do you have to address these issues?

Public school funding is an issue for every public school in the state.  Ultimately we will have little direct influence or control over decisions made at the state level.  That being said, what we can do is make certain we show our community that we are valuable and provide quality experiences in all areas for our students.

What ideas do you have for ensuring safety in your school district?

I believe that with recent security updates our schools are very safe. All outside doors are locked, and main entrances to the schools must be opened by someone in the main office at each school.  There are police officers on duty each day for start-of-day as well as dismissal. Police are on duty continually throughout the day at both the high school and middle school. Additionally, police regularly patrol all elementary buildings.

What action, if any, do you believe the Board of Education should take to support all students and ensure they are provided with a high-quality, meaningful education?

We need to continue to employ the highest quality teachers available.  Our curriculum needs to meet the needs of, and provide opportunities for, every type of student that enters our buildings.

This means providing great experiences for traditional college-bound students, as well as those students desiring to enter the workforce upon graduation.  Making sure that we provide relevant and meaningful education through curriculum that evolves and adapts will ensure that we reach all students.

Carl Talsma

Nonpartisan

Education: Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Training/experience: 30+ years in manufacturing in technical and managerial roles.  Recent local government activities:  participating in rewriting a portion of the Copley Zoning Resolution,  assisting in revising the Copley Land Use Plan, and testifying at various commissions and boards regarding policies and proposed developments

Facebook: www.facebook.com/talsma.for.board

Campaign phone: 216-780-4375

Previous public office: N/A

Campaign email address: talsma.candt@gmail.com

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

I have lived in Copley over twenty years.  Both of my children attended and graduated from Copley-Fairlawn City Schools. My wife currently is a Special Needs Aide and Science Olympiad Assistant Coach in the District.

My background in private industry provides a different skill set than that of one rooted in academia.  I have authored policy manuals, and facilitated cross functional teams to problem solve and find best practices for procedures.  I understand the importance of engaging with all stakeholders to ensure successful creation and implementation of solutions and methods. 

I also understand success cannot come without accountability.  However, accountability cannot be expected without providing the tools and support necessary for success.  This principle holds true whether considering managers, supervisors, and associates in an industrial setting, or considering administrators, faculty, and students in an educational setting.

What are the most significant issues facing the school district and what ideas do you have to address these issues?

Of the issues facing our district, two are at the forefront – funding and student conduct.

Public education has been under significant financial stress due to questions surrounding Title I, III, and IV funds, state policies regarding vouchers and use of local property taxes, and even initiatives to eliminate property tax.  Copley-Fairlawn has been fortunate with the support we have seen from the community for funding.  We must ensure those funds put students first and do so regardless of the changing regulatory landscape.

In terms of student conduct, we must not only be cognizant of this as a safety issue, but a support issue as well.  We must ensure sufficient emotional, behavioral, and academic counselling is available to our students

What ideas do you have for ensuring safety in your school district?

Copley-Fairlawn has done a good job in addressing potential external threats. Schools have been hardened.  Access is limited.  Active shooter training is performed for the staff and lockdown drills occur.  Resource officers are present.  As sad as it is that these efforts are necessary, I support them. Unfortunately, too often when school safety is discussed, these types of threats are all that are considered.

Fortunately, the day to day experience of students does not consist of these tragic events. Rather, student safety tends to be most affected by the school environment and the conduct of fellow students.  Fights, bullying, and disrespect to faculty and staff must not be tolerated.  Students must be held accountable for their actions. I support the return of after school detention to ensure parental involvement. Again, accountability alone is insufficient. Support to ensure students have tools and resources needed to avoid detrimental conduct must be a priority in budgeting.

What action, if any, do you believe the Board of Education should take to support all students and ensure they are provided with a high-quality, meaningful education?

Copley and Fairlawn should be destination communities for excellent education. Copley-Fairlawn must continue to offer an array of courses and pathways, including, but not limited to:  gifted / honors and advanced / AP programs, vocational education, art, music, and foreign languages.

Copley-Fairlawn must continue support for additional activities that enhance the student experience.  These include sports, other team competitions, and extracurricular clubs and activities that teach teamwork and encourage healthy social interactions.

Copley-Fairlawn must support students of all levels and aspirations.  Copley-Fairlawn must continue, and improve, our support of students with Individual Education Plans and special needs.  We must also ensure sufficient staff for college and career, mental health, and behavioral counseling

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.