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This article was originally published by WFYI.
More than 30 seats across Marion County school boards are on the ballot in the Nov. 5 general election.
School boards don’t oversee the day-to-day operations of districts, instead they have four core duties: adopting policies, such as creation of the student handbook and integration of state and federal regulations; approval of the annual budget and overall fiscal oversight; setting goals; and hiring and evaluating the superintendent.
The organization of school boards and the election of board members differ across districts. Candidates for at-large seats represent all residents within the corporation’s boundaries. Board members can receive up to $2,000 annually, in addition to meeting stipends.
School board members are non-partisan elected positions. The deadline for candidates to declare their candidacy with the Marion County Election Board was June 20. Candidates have until noon July 15 to withdraw from the general election. Winning candidates will start their term in January.
Members of the board for Speedway Schools are appointed by the town board, not elected. Here’s the list of candidates:
Beech Grove Schools
At-large — four open seats
- Bradley Gunter
- April McManus (incumbent)
- Beth Prindle (incumbent)
- April Rinks
- Dennis Wilson II
- Tara Wolf (incumbent)
Franklin Township Community School Corp.
Northwest
- Elizabeth Yoder
Southwest
- Ryan Donovan
Indianapolis Public Schools
At-large — one open seat
- Kenneth Allen (incumbent)
- Carrie Harris
- Deandra (Dee) Thompson
District 1
- Alan Schoff
- Ashley Thomas
District 2
- Gayle Cosby
- Terrencio Davis
- Hasaan Rashid
District 4
- Allissa Impink
MSD of Decatur Township
At-large — two open seats
- Larry Taylor (incumbent)
- Estella Vandeventer (incumbent)
MSD of Lawrence Township
At-large — one open seat
- Crystal Puckett (incumbent)
- Eric Young
District 1
- Shaila Mulholland
District 3
- Amy Norman (incumbent)
MSD of Pike Township
At-large — four open seats
- Angela Barnes (incumbent)
- Stephen Hoofer
- Matthew Hopp (incumbent)
- Nichole Kelley (incumbent)
- Toni Wilson
MSD of Warren Township
At-large — four open seats
- Howard Dorsey Jr. (incumbent)
- Julie French (incumbent)
- Candace Hopkins
- LaShauna Triplett (incumbent)
- Gloria Williams (incumbent)
MSD of Washington Township
At-Large — one open seat
- Tracy Krueger (incumbent)
District 1
- Deirdre George Davis (incumbent)
District 3
- John Fencl (incumbent)
- Steven Thompson
MSD of Wayne Township
At-large — three open seats
- Karen Burke (incumbent)
- Susan Graves (incumbent)
- Walter Miller
- Cheri O’Day Marcotte
Perry Township Schools
At-large — four open seats
- Emily Hartman (incumbent)
- James Hernandez (incumbent)
Contact WFYI education edtior Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org.
