From: John Hurley
Richland
Indiana House Bill 1042 and Senate Bill 144 will either require (HB 1042) or place extreme pressure on (SB 144) school board candidates to declare a political party in order to be included on the ballot. Currently, school board candidates do not declare a political affiliation. Associating school board races with political parties will only serve to inject unnecessary and often unrelated national issues into these local races. State and county party bosses would gain more control over education decisions than teachers, administrators, parents, or even the actual elected officials themselves. Good candidates who do not wish to select one party over another will be discouraged from running for office, while those with only their own future political ambitions in mind will use the office as a stepping stone. I urge you to contact your Statehouse officials. Tell them to keep politics out of schools and vote NO on HB 1042 and SB 144.
