In the year after a presidential election, Indiana takes a year off. So, in 2021, there are no elections.
Our next local election cycle comes in 2022. There will be congressional elections in our state with newly-drawn districts. Incumbent Republican Senator Todd Young will be seeking his second term. There will also be a number of Hamilton County offices on the ballot.
But allow me to focus on one set of elections next year for seats on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board. In the 2022 election cycle, 4 seats (out of 7) will be up for election. in 2022, each candidate must live in a district to run, and only the voters in that district can vote in that race. In this case, only voters living in a particular district vote for that school board seat.
The HSE school board district map can be viewed at this link.
The incumbent school board members by district are:
District 1 – Brad Boyer
District 2 – Janet Pritchett
District 3- Michell Fullhart
District 4 – Julie Chambers
The other 3 members of the HSE board were elected at-large in 2020.
The question in the 2020 HSE School Board election is – which incumbents will choose to run for another 4-year term? So far, no incumbents, to my knowledge, have officially announced their intention to run for re-election. But it is still early. The voting will be held in the general election held in November, 2022, a little more than one year from now.
One factor that must be going through the 4 board members up for election next year is the state of our politics today. We are seeing some nasty situations at school board meetings. I covered the school board in Columbus, Indiana from 1978 through 1982 and never witnessed anything like this. I have covered the HSE board for nearly ten years and have never seen some of the behavior from the audience at board meetings that I have seen lately.
Things are so rough in Carmel, the board has suspended having any audience at board meetings after a recent set of incidents. Other boards are trying to find a way to take public comments from parents without the meetings themselves spiraling out of control.
What I fear is that there are good people in the HSE Schools community that may decide not to be a candidate for school board because of the situation they are seeing today. If you want to know more, read this story from the Indianapolis Star, co-written by two outstanding education reporters, Arika Herron & MJ Slaby, at this link. (an IndyStar subscription may be required to access this story).
So, when the filing period comes around in the summer of 2022, will any of the incumbent school board members run for re-election? Also, will any potential candidates shy away from a candidacy because of the atmosphere surrounding our schools and elections?
Indiana has consistently seen lower voter turnout compared to other states. In 2020, Secretary of State Connie Lawson said about 65% of registered voters cast a ballot in the Hoosier state. However, a study by the nonpartisan Indiana Civil Health Index, showed that in 2018, only about 65% of eligible voters in the state even bothered to register.
That means the number of eligible voters choosing to cast a ballot in 2020 was far below 65%. Sadly, Indiana consistently ranks low compared to other states in voter participation.
Every election is important and local elections are much more important than most people think. Most of our media is national now. The shrinking of local news operations is one reason interest in local elections lag.
I do my best as a news blog writer doing this by myself to give local people some idea what is going on in local elections. But, residents in Fishers and the HSE School District, take the time to understand each school board candidate next year. And, if you feel strongly enough, become a candidate yourself.
Use this year of 2021 to consider next year’s election cycle. A democracy is only as healthy as the people choosing to participate.
Larry, I would add that you wouldn’t see some of that behavior by the public (and by that I mean parents, grandparents and concerned HSE taxpayers) if the school board would act more responsibly. Their failure to be totally transparent about policies and actions that often adversely affect the children is what prompts some of the reactions you see. And not too long ago they made a C-19 related decision on a late Friday afternoon clearly to avoid the typical “news cycle” so they could bury the news. When the administration and school board decide to start acting responsibly, then maybe the public will, too.
Your comment that a democracy is only as healthy as the people choosing to participate is spot on.
The C-19 related decision announcement on a late Friday fell directly in line with the regular communication that has been happening in the district. I’m not sure how placing something in to a weekly, expected “update” communication is ‘burying’ news.
On a different note, it is always sad to see the “they weren’t, so we don’t have to be” argument.
Then clearly, you have no experience as a reporter. I am speaking from direct knowledge and experience working as a reporter for 10 years AND as a public relations specialist for 18 years. I worked “both sides of the fence” so I know how the game is played.
As for your comment about “they weren’t, so we don’t have to be” argument, respect should be mutual. It clearly isn’t in this case. The HSE school board & administration has not earned the public’s full respect through several of its actions.
If I may comment….Mr. Bierman is correct that it is customary for news to be released in a late Friday “news dump” hoping the story will get less play in the media. However, x is also correct that HSE Schools regularly release updates on Friday afternoons so that is not out of the ordinary based on past practice. This is a case when you can spin it both ways but unless you pry into the minds of the HSE decision-makers, there is no way to know for certain the intentions involved here.