Voters will select our representatives in the halls of power in Washington and Indianapolis as well as many county offices in the Nov. 8 general election, but those who seek seats on local school boards also will be on the ballot.
It’s a mistake to consider these “down ballot” races somehow less significant than those that sometimes get more attention. Few elected positions demand as much time, energy, study, commitment and sacrifice as service on a public school board, and none are as fundamentally responsible for serving the best interests of our community’s children.
So these races are worth significant attention, and this year, with 11 people in the contests for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board, these races are getting it.
There will be at least two new faces on the board next year. Current board president Jill Shedd is not seeking reelection to the District 1 seat, nor is District 4 representative Julie Bilz.
Running to succeed Shedd in District 1 are Anakarina Hurtado, Jason Major and David Vincent. Dale Nowlin and Eric Grow are vying to replace Bilz in the District 4 seat.
Two incumbent school board members are facing challengers in the two other BCSC races on this fall’s ballot. District 2 incumbent Rich Stenner is opposed by Roy West, while District 6 incumbent Kathy Dayhoff-Dwyer faces challengers Mark Douglas, Cheryl Miles-Vieth and Logan Schulz.
Candidates, with the exception of Douglas, so far have participated in virtual forums hosted by the Columbus Educators Association and the Bartholomew County Retired Teachers Association in late September. You can still see these forums online — they were held over Zoom and later uploaded to the CEA’s YouTube channel.
Further, you’ll have an opportunity to see the candidates in at least one more live public forum.
IUPUC is offering an excellent community service through the Office of Student Affairs, which will host a BCSC candidate forum from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Columbus Learning Center’s lecture hall.
Kevin Jones, associate professor of management at IUPUC and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, will moderate, and candidates will receive the questions in advance.
“We are excited to host this public forum for all community members,” said Shelley Arroyo, assistant director of student affairs at IUPUC.
If you’re interested in the future of public education, you owe it to yourself to get out to the IUPUC forum and/or take a look at the earlier candidate forums. The Republic also has published news stories featuring candidates’ responses to questions about important issues school board members will face.
The old adage that all politics is local has some truth to it, but local Indiana school board races historically have had the distinction of being distinctly nonpartisan. They are among the few elected offices where candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, but rather strictly on their ideas of how best to prepare young people for the world we will leave to them.
These are important positions of public trust. Voters would be wise to study the issues and the candidates, do their homework and make informed choices before casting their ballots.
