Three of the four officers with the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education were ousted from their positions on Tuesday, including its top official.

Challengers Ron Jones, W. Douglas Kolmodin and Phyllis Anne Sarabyn defeated Board President Michelle Helmuth-Charles, Secretary Beth Davis and Treasurer Julia Smith, according to unofficial results from Cass, Berrien and Van Buren county clerk’s offices. The winners will join current Vice President Ronda Sullivan and trustees Claudia Zebell, Ruth Ausra and Larry Schmidt, with four-year terms beginning in December.

The final vote tallies for each candidate were as follows:

Sarabyn: 1,633

Jones: 1,358

Kolmodin: 1,339

Davis 1,332

Charles: 1,126

Smith: 1,016

The results come following a turbulent last few years for the Dowagiac district, especially in regards to safety. Last year, a

former student at Dowagiac Middle School shot himself in the woods outside the building after bringing a weapon near school grounds. A year earlier, another student was arrested after police found several weapons in the trunk of his vehicle parked at Dowagiac Union High School.

“My number one issue right now, and one I think everyone is on board with, is to make sure the schools are upgraded to be safe,” Jones said.

Jones, one of the top vote getters from Tuesday’s election, is a former superintendent with the district, serving from 1990 to 1999. Kolmodin is a retired banker who served on various local organizations such as the Dowagiac Elks and the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival committee, and Sarabyn is a financial advisor with Edward Jones.

One of the things that Jones said he wants to improve in his tenure with the board is their communication with the public.

“Board members are the key link between the community and the administration, teachers and students,” he said.

Local voters also approved the renewal of the district’s millage, by a vote of 2,088 to 1,303.