By FRED SWIFT
The County Line
Some lively school board election campaigns may be in store for voters this year.
Filing for seats on the non-partisan boards in all six Hamilton County school districts opened Tuesday. Eight candidates filed on the first day. Candidates may declare their intentions at the county elections office until noon on Aug. 26 for the November 8 election.
Controversy over something called Critical Race Theory may become responsible for a highly charged election campaign in some school districts.
Those filing Tuesday in the Hamilton Southeastern district were Tiffany Pascoe, District 1; Juanita Albright, District 2; Dawn Lang, District 3; and Ben Orr, District 4.
Filing in the Carmel Clay district were Sheldon Barnes, District 1; and Gregory Brown, District 3.
Filing in the Hamilton Heights district were Julie Davis, Jackson Township District; and Arnett Cooper, at-large (Jackson and White River townships).
There were no candidate filings Tuesday in Noblesville, Sheridan or Westfield school districts.
Critical Race Theory is not the only issue that voters are concerned about. The voters that I hear from are concerned with transparency, academic excellence, age appropriate library books, and the inclusion of training that may be causing division. Parents also want to ensure that they can be involved at a higher and that their voices can be heard by our school boards.
We can see across the nation and Hamilton County that proficiency test scores are falling as the focus has shifted away from academic excellence. Parents who have the resources are pulling their children out of public schools. Collaboration with parents is essential. Age and curriculum appropriate materials must be the norm. And transparency must be the culture within our school systems. Let’s work together to provide the best affordable education in the nation!