Jean Webb Candidate For EVSC SCHOOL BOARD
My name is Jean Webb, and I’m running for Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) School Board. I’m a long-time Evansville resident, a former EVSC student, former EVSC mom, and current EVSC grandmother. The Evansville Teacher’s Association has endorsed my candidacy.
 I’m retired from 30+ years in Pharmaceutical Operations. I was employed by Bristol-Myers Squibb in Evansville (27 years), and then I worked on a contract basis at Johnson & Johnson in Pennsylvania, and both Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca in Mount Vernon, IN. I hold a B.S. from the University of Evansville, cum laude, 1991 with a major in Chemistry/Business Administration.
The initial desire to run was a result of my family being negatively impacted by changes in EVSC.  My granddaughter enrolled in Hebron in 2013 as a kindergartner. The school had an “A “grade from the state when she enrolled, and it was the same school her mother had attended. By the time she was a third grader in 2017, that grade had fallen to a “Dâ€. Grades might not define a school, and I really like her teacher this year, but this was a wake-up call for me.
After checking out Hebron’s grades, I looked at the grades and student test scores of all our schools. I was struck by how other schools near me, schools that were once great schools, are struggling. Allowing the decline of these schools is almost begging parents to take a voucher and go elsewhere, but we’re not going anywhere. We ‘re going to stay put and work to get a public school system that works for everyone regardless of their zip code.
The disparity between schools within EVSC is too great, not only in achievement gaps, but in supplies, amenities, building maintenance, and even curriculum.Â
I’d like to see our resources used in reducing those disparities, and that will require a change in priority in how our money is spent.
In the past few years, EVSC has failed to operate within its available funds. They have had to issue General Obligation (GO) bonds, reducing the funds available for future students. This concerns me.Â
- $5 million GO bond issued 2015, retire 1/15/2020.Â
- $6 million GO bond issued 2016, retired 1/15/2021.Â
- $6 million GO bond issued 2017, retired 1/15/2022.
On August 13th the EVSC School Board approved a preliminary bond hearing for a $5 million GO Bond to be issued in 2018. This worries me a great deal. Especially since these 2018 bonds are authorized to have a 7-year duration instead of 5 years. Continuing to run a school corporation by borrowing each year is not sustainable. Is there a plan for running EVSC without snowballing debt?
EVSC is also obligated to make escalating payments on a $6.4 million Energy Savings Contract with Vectren’s ESG subsidiary. The $6.4 million was spent on energy-efficient equipment, construction management, and commissioning at the McCutchanville School. There has been heavy press coverage about how the McCutchanville School was built without debt or a tax increase. I find that claim perhaps truthful, but misleading.
In light of this inability to go a year without adding debt, should EVSC have bought a 135-acre golf course for $3.37 million? This land is right near the three newest schools that were built with only 80 acres. Disparity. That’s the issue.
These are the questions I want to ask if elected to the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation School Board. Please vote for me so I can help bring our schools closer to meeting the EVSC motto: Equality and Excellence for All Students.
