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Dear Editor:
As my son enters kindergarten this year in our fantastic district, I felt called to serve the community and all the wonderful men and women working tirelessly to shape his future by running for Noblesville school board.
I looked at the school board and the current status quo has gotten us some of the lowest paid teachers in Hamilton County and the 26th best district in the state. Is that enough?
Noblesville is top-tier district, and we need to ensure our teachers, administrators, and students have what they need to accomplish top-tier education. The district is what drew my wife and I to Noblesville, and the district is what will continue to help fuel the economy of today and produce the leaders of tomorrow.
We have two candidates running on maintaining the status quo, and two who feel we were better 30 years ago.
I believe we have a lot of good going for us, but we have some work to do to improve ourselves.
My campaign is focused on:
Improving teacher pay
When elected to the School Board, I would advocate for realistic teacher salaries, supply funds, and continuing education resources.
College and career readiness
When elected to the School Board, I would look to expand our career readiness past the JEL program at North Central, and look at creating apprenticeships with local businesses who need talent to create a homegrown talent pipeline.
STEAM Education and the Arts
Focusing our attention and funds on STEAM will ensure that our students develop strong literacy, numeracy, and STEAM skills, and the life skills needed to thrive in the 21st century economy, including critical and creative thinking, leadership, and judgment and decision-making.
Honest understanding of SEL
Some candidates are vilifying SEL education. However, after the pandemic, our students are behind on how to interact with one another. Which means as they enter the workforce, they’re employees who do not know how to behave, how to serve, or how communicate.
I hope throughout this campaign, we’ll see teachers as the professionals they are, who are supporting and caring for their students.
Brian Laskey, MNM SPHR
Candidate for Noblesville School Board 2022