Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) President Janet Chandler has been a teacher at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School since 1979 and recalls the first year the local teachers’ union became active in school board elections during 1984, even though there were no formal candidate endorsements then.
Since that time, HSEA has endorsed candidates for the board in each election cycle. 2020 will be the first time in recent history that the association is choosing not to endorse any school board candidate in this round of at-large school board elections.
HSEA believes it has fulfilled its responsibility to educate local voters with a candidate forum held via Zoom (you can view the entire forum video at this link). Eight of the 11 candidates chose to participate in the forum. HSEA also posted answers to questionnaires by the candidates, which can be viewed at this link.
The 12-person committee of teaching staff tasked with making the union’s endorsement decisions made the difficult choice, after what was described as a lively discussion, not to endorse any candidates in 2020.
HSEA President Chandler told LarryInFishers many committee members felt that in the current toxic environment, an HSEA endorsement could actually hurt a candidate.
Just a reminder that if you vote a straight party ticket, you must go to the end of the ballot, at the voting booth or on paper as absentee, in order to cast a vote for school board. In Indiana, school board elections are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run under the banner of any political party.