The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board voted unanimously Tuesday morning to approve a new one-year contract with the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) covering the 2025–26 school year. But while the final vote was 7-0, the meeting itself underscored deep divisions within the community and among board members over the bargaining process and its outcome.
During public comment, HSEA President Tyler Zerbe thanked the union’s bargaining team and expressed appreciation for community support throughout the negotiations.
“HSE Schools parents, students and community — your support for your teachers is truly admirable and remarkable, and you have helped to further show us that standing up for what is right is always worth it,” Zerbe said.
Zerbe also alluded to the difficult nature of the talks as he urged board members to approve the agreement.
“I know what I am about to say is not easy but is the right thing to do,” he said. “Therefore, I would like to request that the board vote yes to ratify the contract, knowing that if it does not pass, it will only make an already difficult situation worse for the 1,300 bargaining unit members.”
Former Hamilton East Public Library Board member Ray Maddalone spoke in support of the contract, the board and the superintendent, but sharply criticized teachers’ unions.
“I’m glad that the superintendent and the board stopped letting the union treat Fishers taxpayers as their personal piggy bank,” Maddalone said. “Teacher unions continue to ask the public to fund teacher raises without any direct personal accountability for their performance in the classroom.”
Board member Latricia Schooley appeared to respond directly to those comments.
“I feel it is ethically necessary to tell certain audience members who come up and make negative comments about teachers: if you cannot say something that is positive, that is going to help bring the community together, maybe you need to look inside yourself before you speak,” Schooley said.
Former HSE School Board member Michelle Fullhart outlined alternative cost-cutting measures she said could have preserved teachers’ take-home pay without reducing compensation or increasing class sizes. Her suggestions included renegotiating the district’s grounds maintenance contract with the City of Fishers, ending the professional development contract with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, reducing administrative positions, and cutting the number of teacher development specialists in half while offering those individuals classroom teaching positions.
During board discussion, member Sarah Parks-Reese pushed back on public claims that the contract makes HSE the highest-paying district in Hamilton County.
“That is only true for teachers with no experience or just one to three years in the classroom,” Parks-Reese said. “This continues to be my biggest issue with the contract.”
Board member Ben Orr countered by citing a contract provision allowing salaries up to $93,200. “In theory, anyone joining HSE can make up to $93,200,” Orr said.
Parks-Reese responded that the higher salary cap applies only to “hard-to-fill” positions, not to “any” teachers.
Schooley said the bargaining process itself needs to change going forward.
“This should have been resolved before we had to be in the news, before it was sent to mediation,” she said. “It needs to be handled differently in the future.”
When the roll-call vote was taken, Parks-Reese described her vote as “a reluctant yes.” Orr, before casting his vote, read a lengthy statement saying he “cannot overlook how certain agenda-driven voices have influenced the narrative around this process.”
Following the meeting, HSE Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told LarryInFishers that teachers may choose from three levels of health insurance coverage, with Option 1 offering the most comprehensive — and most expensive — plan. Brown said that if all teachers keep their current health insurance selections, they will see a reduction in take-home pay under the new contract. However, teachers who move from Option 1 to Option 2 or 3 would see savings in premium costs.
Brown also emphasized that all teachers have access to the district’s health clinic, which treats many common medical issues and provides basic prescription services.
With Tuesday’s vote, teacher contract bargaining is complete for the 2025–26 school year. However, the agreement lasts only one year, and negotiations will resume in September 2026.
Those talks will occur against a changing political backdrop. Four of the seven HSE School Board seats will be on the ballot in fall 2026 under new rules passed by the Indiana General Assembly. The changes allow school board candidates to declare a political party affiliation or run as nonpartisan, though races will not be decided through the primary election process.