After much controversy and looming decisions, few run for MCCSC school board

After a tumultuous year at Monroe County Community School Corp., and despite important pending decisions on a new superintendent, schedules and consolidations, few candidates are running for school board.

“A little surprising … that no incumbents are being challenged,” said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association.

In the last year, students, teachers and parents gathered on the courthouse lawn and at a school board meeting to protest a proposed high school schedule realignment that opponents said was being pushed through for specious reasons and without enough support and input from stakeholders.

Community members also criticized school leaders for not explaining with enough detail a plan to raise an additional $6 million a year to expand early childhood education. The referendum that is paying for that expansion was adopted by voters last fall, but barely: Out of more than 10,000 votes cast, the margin of victory was 108.

The board last year also dealt with questions about about unusual no-bid contracts it gave to a consultant and bus drivers’ complaints about faulty electric buses.

School board members also have received criticism for the lack of discussion in their public meetings. Board members usually vote in unison, do not explain their votes and refer questions to the board president, April Hennessey.

The board in March bought out then-Superintendent Jeff Hauswald’s contract for $229,000 in a 48-second meeting that the state’s public access counselor slammed as “perfunctory.”

Who is running:Meet the candidates running for Monroe County Community School Corp. board

The results of the action the board took during that meeting weren't clear, as members officially voted on a modification to Hauswald’s contract. Only after the meeting did board members explain in a statement what the in the contract was modified.

Ross Grimes, the incumbent for District 6, said board members generally have in-depth public discussions when their decisions deal with complex issues. He said the board had robust public exchanges on mask mandates during the pandemic and, more recently, on the merger of Childs and Templeton schools.

Since July 1, the corporation's former deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, Markay Winston, has served as interim superintendent.

Four of MCCSC’s seven school board seats are up for election this year. Three current board members — Erin Cooperman (District 5), Grimes and Hennessey (District 2) — want to continue serving, while a fourth, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer (District 4), decided not to seek re-election.

Tiana Williams Iruoje, an Indiana University graduate and employee who has three children in MCCSC, is seeking to succeed Fuentes-Rohwer.

The districts denote where the candidates must live, but all voters in the MCCSC area can cast ballots for all districts. All four candidates are running unopposed. The deadline to file has passed. School board elections are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run on a party ticket.

Are the other MCCSC board seats up for election this year?

No. Elections for MCCSC board seats are staggered, which means the other three seats, currently occupied by Erin Wyatt (District 1), Ashley Pirani (District 3) and Brandon Shurr (District 7), will not be up for election until 2026.

Lack of competition 'surprising'

Given the number of high-profile issues in MCCSC, including the search for a new superintendent, Spradlin said he was a bit surprised by the lack of challengers for the incumbents.

However, he said the polarization and divisiveness that affected school boards, especially during the pandemic, has diminished somewhat. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school boards frequently dealt with voters angry about mask mandates.

In 2022, about 800 school board seats were up for election in Indiana, and 300 new members were elected, Spradlin said. Of those, 200 ran for seats where incumbents did not seek re-election, and about 90 ousted incumbents.

Keri Miksza, chair of the Bloomington-based Indiana Coalition for Public Education, too, said it’s “odd there are not more people running considering all the issues last year.”

In general, though, she said serving on a school board can be a thankless job, given that it requires lots of time but provides little pay, capped, by state law, at $2,000 per year.

Board members also often deal with lots of angry emails or even threats, though Miksza that’s more of a nationwide issue and escalated especially during the pandemic.

Spradlin agreed the pay, which has not been raised since 1987, is inadequate, but he said serving on a school board can be highly rewarding and fulfilling and remains one of the most important positions in the community because school boards often oversee the largest taxpayer-funded operations and make important decisions about the education, safety and wellbeing of future generations.

“The duty is quite significant,” he said. “Very little is more important.”

What do school boards do?

School boards govern districts on a broad level, while administrators, such as the superintendent, handle day-to-day operations, Spradlin said.

Boards select the superintendent, approve budgets and hold responsibility for setting goals, monitoring progress toward those goals, implementing policies and taking care of the corporation’s physical assets, such as the buildings. 

How many MCCSC board seats are up for election in 2024?

Four in districts 2, 4, 5, and 6.

What is the length of a school board member's term?

Four years.

Is there a school board election in Ellettsville?

Yes. However, constituents in the other big Monroe County school corporation, Richland-Bean Blossom, will see no change in the school board: Three of five seats are up for election in November. All three incumbents — Larry DeMoss, Jimmie Durnil and Brad Tucker — are seeking re-election and are unopposed.

Who can vote in this year’s school board election?

Every registered voter in the MCCSC district can vote for candidates in each of the four MCCSC districts, while voters in the RBB districts can vote for every candidate in all three RBB districts up for election this year. The districts merely denote where candidates have to reside.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.