Two out of the three incumbents won their seats back on the Lyle Public Schools Board.

Jerry Sampson and Jessie Meyer were re-elected, while Joel Nelson will join the board, replacing board member Dan King, who came in fourth place out of five.

“I guess it’s just a little bit overwhelming, the support that I’ve got,” Sampson, this year’s board chairman, said. “It’s encouraging and I look forward to the next four years.”

While Sampson acknowledged the board and community still needed to heal from issues that arose last year surrounding former superintendent/principal Jim Dusso’s leadership, Sampson feels the vote of confidence the community gave to its board members means the district is on a positive path to continue strengthening education in Lyle.

“I’ve always felt that Lyle has always been on the right track for many, many years,” Sampson said.

The board will have some big decisions to face over the next four years, including whether to share superintendent responsibilities with other districts to save money, keeping student achievement on state standardized testing up through curriculum shifts and more communication between grade-levels, and increasing Lyle’s technological prowess to match student needs.

“The students that come out of Lyle come out with a desire to do anything they choose to do,” Sampson said. “They have this, kind of a momentum, to get their education … further their education and go on to be successful. It’s something unique that’s being distilled and I want to build on that.”