Barbara Gunkelman and Roy Salazar elected as members of the Buckeye Board of Education

YORK TWP. — Incumbent Barbara Gunkelman and Roy Salazar were elected to the open positions on the Buckeye Board of Education, according to the final unofficial election results from Tuesday's general election. The other two candidates who were running for the open seats were David Borling and Pauleva "C.c." Huttinger. All of Medina County's 121 precincts were included in the final unofficial election results. The vote distribution for the four candidates was as follows: Gunkelman had 3,372 votes or 36.5 percent. Salazar had 2,373 votes or nearly 26 percent. Borling had 2,095 votes or just under 23 percent. Huttinger had 1,399 votes or just over 15 percent. Gunkelman is a current member of the Board of Education. She has a variety of experience in education, including as a teacher at Buckeye Schools and a gifted coordinator and principal for Medina Schools. "I'd like to thank (voters) for their support," she said. "It means a lot when you have the support of your community when you enter into an election like this. I will continue to do my best for them, do my best for the students and the people who have elected me to this position." Salazar is the director of operations for Saint-Gobain, where he leads two manufacturing plants. He has a bachelor's degree in business with a focus in human resources, as well as an MBA in operations management. "I certainly appreciate all of the support from the community," he said. "I'm looking forward to working with the new board." Borling said he is appreciative of the support he received in his campaign. "Although we fell short of the goal, I will continue to hold the board of education accountable while gearing up for 2025," he said in a statement. Huttinger thanked her supporters. "I'm disappointed, of course, but I hope that Roy (Salazar) is an improvement to the board as I had hoped to be," she said. The primary goal moving forward is uniting the community behind a facility plan, Gunkelman said. "I think our collective goal is finding a positive path forward for the district that we can all kind of support and rally behind," Salazar said. "I am excited to be able to have the opportunity to work with the board and help continue to move the community forward." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.