MENTOR, Ohio -- Control of one of Northeast Ohio’s largest school districts is at stake in the Nov. 4 Mentor school board election, where a slate of challengers running on culture-war issues is squaring off against the board’s sitting president and her allies, whose campaigns have emphasized academic performance and financial stability.

Incumbent board president Maggie Cook is seeking a second term and is joined on the ballot by newcomers Robert Haag and Daniel Hardesty. While running separate campaigns, the three share a message largely focused on academics and budget issues.

They face a slate of newcomers: Robert Izzo, Don Schutz and Linda O’Brien, known as “Team ISO,” who criticize the board’s work under Cook’s leadership.

Prominent topics on Team ISO’s campaign website include book

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