A local parent who has been critical of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board has filed to run for a board seat.
Eric Grow, 33, is seeking the District 4 seat currently held by board member Julie Bilz. While Bilz has not filed for re-election, Dale Nowlin submitted his candidacy for the seat in late July. Nowlin is a former BCSC teacher and occasional substitute who ran for the Indiana House of Representatives District 59 seat in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
Grow, who filed around noon on Wednesday, listed his employer for the previous year as Growby’s LLC. He is a BCSC parent and has spoken often during the time for public comment at school board meetings, expressing concerns regarding issues such as COVID-19 protocols, transparency, communication and explicit material in school libraries.
According to Grow’s campaign website, his priorities also include teacher attraction and retention, parents’ rights, board accountability, student safety and curriculum.
His site states that that schools should focus on “Education and Unity, not Ideology and Diversity.”
“Diversity, Equity, &Inclusion (DEI) initiatives destroy the individualism of our children by judging our students as members of groups, a discriminatory &dehumanizing practice,” wrote Grow. He also expressed opposition to Social Emotional Learning.
The deadline to turn in paperwork for local school board races is Friday at noon.
