Letter To The Editor: Candidates For School Board Needed 

Candidates For School Board Needed 

By Wally Paynter, Tri-State Alliance President Emeritus 

I often spoke about the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Board with the late Patty Swanson, a 2-term school board member who spent decades as an education reporter. We talked about how the schools were the government unit with the largest budget and the most employees compared to other local government units. 

For decades a small group of individuals made closed-door and backroom decisions and deals about local schools. Patty even received a note during the holidays announcing who the new officers of a school board were with no public discussion or input. She rightfully complained publicly. She publicly pushed them about issues discussed in the executive session that should have been talked about in the open session instead. 

The school board meets on Mondays typically when the city council meets, in an effort to decrease public attendance and media coverage. The local school board stopped public comment until they were required by Indiana law to reinstate it this year…. And even with public comment the school board members do NOT respond or engage in any dialogue, unlike other local government entities. 

What’s most shocking? Too often there is no competition for the school boards. And no competition means the candidates (incumbents for the most part) choose not to attend election forums or engage with voters. 

What’s the solution? We need good people to run for the local school board. People like Patty Swanson can hold the school board and the superintendent accountable. The deadline to file your candidacy at noon on Friday, Aug. 26. Please consider running and making a difference in our community! 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

In Vanderburgh County, school board seats on the ballot are in districts 1 and 2. Check this website to see what district you live in: https://www.evansvillegov.org/county/topic/index.php?topicid=607&structureid=35 

The first day that you can file an application for the school board is July 22 and the last day for filing is August 26 at noon. All school board candidates must file a CAN-12 Statement of Economic Interests and a CAN-34 Petition of Nomination. Candidates will need to obtain signatures of support from 10 registered voters from the district that they live in. The signatures on the petition will need to be verified by the Voter Registration Office prior to filing for the position.

You can find more information on the Secretary of States website that may be helpful. In.gov/sos and select the Candidate Information option. This will provide the list of forms as well as a calendar of due dates. Many times the calendar will guide the candidate as to what they need to do next.