The major reconstruction at the intersection of Allisonville Road and 146th Street is continuing, with material deliveries requiring some night & overnight lane restrictions.

Below are the details, as provided by the Hamilton County Highway Department:

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 Please be advised, beginning on or after the dates listed below, between the hours of 7PM and 5AM, our contractor will utilize a lane restriction for the delivery of materials in the work area and to set bridge beams.

Upcoming Nighttime Lane Restriction Dates:

Monday, July 1^st: Westbound left lane of 146^th Street will be closed.

Tuesday, July 2^nd: One Westbound and Eastbound lane will be closed. A temporary crossover will be utilized on both sides of the intersection to shift traffic into the appropriate lanes.

Drivers should expect short-duration intermittent stoppages along 146^th street and Allisonville Road, so the contractor can move materials and equipment within the work area. Please watch for flaggers within the construction zone and use extreme caution while driving through this construction zone.

The conservative political group Fishers One has endorsed a candidate in each township of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board at-large election in November.

In Delaware Township, Greg Lannan is the group’s endorsed candidate.  He faces Latrica Schooley.

In Fall Creek Township, former HSE Board member Terry Tolle is the endorsed candidate.  He faces incumbent Suzanne Thomas.

In Wayne Township, John Stewart has the group’s endorsement.  He is opposed by incumbent Sarah Parks-Reese.

In this at-large election, each candidate must reside within the township but all voters in the HSE District vote in each township race.

Fishers One endorsed the winning candidates in the 2022 HSE School Board district election.

(NOTE:  Greg Lannan & I share the same last name and are distant cousins.  We did not know each other until a few years ago)

The Hamilton Southeastern Superintendent of Schools Patrick Mapes has been on the job about 4 months, and provided an update Wednesday with plenty of numbers on academics and financial matters.

On the academic front, here are some major take-aways from Mr. Mapes’ presentation, centering on testing data:

–In English Language Arts, HSE performs at 59.1%, compared to the state average of 40.7%.  Mapes noted the state changed the test a few years ago is now more in line with national standards.

–In math, for 2023, HSE scored  63.2%, with the state number at 40.9%.

–The 3^rd grade IREAD score was for  88.6% for HSE, state 81.9%.  Mapes explained there are students taking summer school now that will retake the test.  The 2nd grade IREAD score for HSE was 58%, a very high number.

–Mapes told the board SAT scores may not be a fair assessment, since it is a college-bound test, yet all HSE students take it, but the HSE score of 56% is much higher than the state average of 28.4%.

–Mapes turned to enrollment numbers, which have been declining in recent years and is tied to support from the state.  The 2024 HSE total enrollment number is 21,299.  Demographer Jerry McKibben, in a report to the board in May of 2022, projected the 2024 student count for all HSE at 21.146, a bit lower than the actual count.

The discussion then turned to financial matters.  I will summarize some of Mr. Mapes’ comments, but sifting through all the financial data is quite complicated.  I have a link below to Mapes’ entire presentation to the board, including his numbers about new money received from the state and how it has been spent.

Mapes went into what he described as continuing “deficit financing trends” for teachers salaries. The superintendent asserts the District has been “moving money around,” transferring funds, which HSE Schools had been doing for years. He says  this is “not fiscally responsible.”

He also voiced criticism that financial  books were not closed by end of January, or the first part of February this year.

HSE Schools administrators and HSEA officials will be entering into negotiations over teachers’ compensation in the coming weeks.

To access the presentation by Superintendent Mapes, use this link.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board gave final approval to three new administrators.

Steve Guenin will move from the Dean of Students to assistant principal of Hamilton Southeastern High School.

Jordan McCaslin, a physical education teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School, will become the new Dean of Students.

Christopher Conway has been hired as the Assistant Principal at Fall Creek Elementary School.

When the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the local teachers’ union, filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) against the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, it was clear there was a chasm separating the two institutions.  Following a meeting with HSEA members before Wednesday’s school board meeting, and comments made by Superintendent Patrick Mapes speaking before the HSE Board, the gulf between HSEA and HSE Schools appears to have widened significantly.

Teachers met next door to the school administration building prior to the 6pm board meeting.  Referring to comments from a local organization, HSEA President Abby Taylor said,  “There are not sides when it comes to treating people kindly.  We, as teachers, have never chosen a side.  We have chosen to support students, every, every step of the way.”

Becky Slayton, the ISTA Uniserve Director for HSEA, provided a timeline of what led to the ULP filing.  Administration was contacted up the chain of command about allegations of a “toxic workplace” from HSEA President Taylor.  With no resolution when attorneys for HSEA and HSE Schools spoke, HSEA authorized ISTA attorneys to file the ULP action.

“Right now, what (HSE Schools are)  doing is merely trying to bust up the union, so that you do not have a voice,” Slayton told the teacher group.  She adds the union will see to it there is a hearing on the ULP.

While Mapes was providing the board with the District’s update on “Vision, Goals, Organization, and Budget,” he had some direct comments about teachers and those representing them.  He began by talking about people believing everything they read on social media.

“As a school corporation, we will not drag legal issues through social media,” Mapes told the board.  “It’s unprofessional and provides no value.  Education is a service providing profession that is striving to build student skills so they may be good citizens.  That’s the goal no matter what community you’re in. ”

Mapes went on to say the following: “If we’ve employed people who do not want to serve students and put their own agenda in front of a mission to educate students, then those people should leave our district because we’re here to serve students.  That’s why people got into this business.  They want to help kids.  And if they don’t want to help kids, then I really don’t have any place for them.”

Mapes then quoted a comment from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, “…schools help promote our community.”

Slayton says if there is no settlement of the ULP, and as of Wednesday that does not seem likely, the state will hold a hearing, with a decision coming by October of this year.

No Hamilton County official can make a public presentation these days without acknowledging the elephant in the room – the more than 20 road projects underway this summer throughout the county.

County Commissioner Steve Dillinger did his best to run down all the projects and provide an update to the large crowd at Noblesville Embassy Suites for the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce luncheon hosting the annual State of the County address.

He joked about the difficulty in “getting there from here” these days, and tried to answer the question asked of him most often – whey can’t the road construction plans be better coordinated?

Dillinger explained the timeline from the start of a road construction project to its completion, which can often take up to 6 years.  “Sometimes it takes longer,” said Dillinger. Many of the steps involved are outside the control of the county.

One reason road construction is so constant is related to the growth in population.  The 2020 census pegged Hamilton County’s population at 348,000.  Dillinger cites the latest data putting the population number at 377,000.  Hamilton County is the 4th largest county in Indiana, behind Marion, Lake and Allen Counties.

Dillinger did not make news, but provided updates on a number of projects planned or ongoing…including:

–Plans to install the historic Bell Ford Bridge at Geist Park next year

–Work on the upgrades to the 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville has started and is ongoing

–A new 911 Center is planned, and must meet rigid construction standards to withstand the worst weather conditions, including tornadoes

–Plans for the new Public Safety Training facility are continuing

–With an expanding population, the Judicial Center will need expansion soon to the tune of $65 million

–With many county functions running 24 hours a day, Hamilton County is planning a child care center for county workers available to fit those work schedules.

Dillinger praised plans for a memorial honoring local firefighters that died in the line of duty.

He was proud of Hamilton County’s financial standing, with the help of the County Council. Our county is the only Indiana county with a  AAA credit rating.  This high rating lowers borrowing costs for the county.

Dillinger praised the 4 Hamilton County swimmers qualifying for the Paris Olympics later this summer – Drew Kibler, Aaron Shackell, Alex Shackell and Luke Whitlock.

With election season before us, Dillinger criticized “personal attacks” in election campaigns.  He urged political candidates to “campaign with integrity” and “treat others with respect.

WTHR posted a story Tuesday evening with details of allegations contained in a lawsuit filed against the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  It deals with accusations of attacks in a school rest room by another student.

There are many other details about this lawsuit, many are disturbing.  You can read the entire WTHR story at this link.

When I moved to Fishers after marrying Jane in May, 1991, I knew I was moving into a small suburban town of just over 7,500, but growing fast.  One thing most people in the area knew was this – Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools served Fishers and it was a school district with an outstanding reputation.

As I settled into my new Fishers home, I often heard and read officials in Fishers praising the school district.  Once I began writing this local Fishers news blog in 2012, I heard the message time and time again – Fishers and a quality public school system are synonymous.

Scott Fadness, as Town Manager & Mayor of Fishers, has often spoken of how the HSE Schools have, to a large extent, fueled the growth of Fishers.  The city helps the school district in a number of ways, something you do not see often in Indiana.

Creating and maintaining a quality school district means a number of ingredients must work together and ensure quality.  That includes the school board, administrators and teachers.

The way it is supposed to work is as follows:  The board hires and evaluates the superintendent, the superintendent leads the school administration and the teachers can then be supported and do the most important job, instruct students in the classrooms.

I have always admired the way HSE Schools were able to keep academic standards high while taking-in tremendous growth in the student population, basically from the time I moved to Fishers in 1991 up to the present time.  Current projections show student population is leveling off, mainly due to demographic changes.

I retell this information because something is going wrong with HSE Schools, and I refer to recent stories published by Indianapolis media.

The first was from WFYI statehouse education reporter Rachelle Fradette.  She wrote a piece published June 14th on an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) filed by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the union representing HSE School District teachers. (Available at this link, no paywall).

Ms. Fradette’s story documents what is alleged in the ULP complaint.  Abby Taylor, HSEA President, makes several assertions.  Here is part of the WFYI story:

“Taylor alleges Murphy created a hostile work environment through ‘aggressive’ messaging and a warning he may claim ghost employment against Taylor, among other allegations. Taylor said she ‘felt unsafe and intimidated’ by Murphy during a May meeting with other staff, according to the complaint.”

Reporter Fradette also cites documents detailing a contentious issue between HSE HR Chief Brian Murphy and Taylor, over teacher staffing in grades K-6.  According to the documents cited in the story, Murphy contacted the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), asking that Taylor be fired and threatened to involve Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, who represents the east side of Fishers.

The entire matter will go before a hearing examiner from the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board for review.

Caroline Beck of the Indianapolis Star also published a piece on this issue June 18th, and is available at this link, (You may need to be a Star subscriber to access this story)

When the teachers’ union feels there is a “hostile work environment” to the extent it files a ULP, it is a way of revealing your dirty laundry to the public and state education officials.  I would hope every Fishers resident, and the wider geographic area served by HSE Schools, is taking notice.

Although the school board and administration have the legal authority over these decisions, I would ask that all public officials, privately or publicly, find a way to encourage settling these issues between HSE Schools and the teachers’ union.

I only write a small. local, mostly volunteer news blog here in Fishers.  All I can do is call it the way I see it, as someone having lived in Fishers 33 years and in my 13th year of writing a local news blog and covering HSE Schools.  We cannot let this public controversy continue.

Bottom line, let’s not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.  HSE Schools and its teaching staff are our golden goose.  I call on everyone that cares about this community to ask those involved in this dispute to dial down the vitriol and settle the differences.

This is the start of Spark Fishers, with the final day containing a street fair at the Municipal Complex Saturday from 2-9pm.

As part of the street fair, the arts community in Fishers is coming together to provide an indoor opportunity for you to experience what local artists are creating, at the new City Hall/Art Center.

For more details on all the Spark Fishers activities, use this link.