Why are you running for the school board?

A Career of Care and Education A Passion for Children and Families and Quality Inclusive Educational Experiences A Voice for Wayne Township An Example of Public Service A Spirit of Celebration for HSE Students A Curiosity and Passion for Listening and Learning A Career of Care and Education: I’ve devoted my career to the care and education of young children for over twenty five years.  Those are two things I don’t think you can separate—care and education, regardless of the age of the student.  You can’t possibly teach anything if you don’t also care for the needs of your students.  That same care applies to the decisions made by the HSE school board, in listening to their community, and caring for all students and staff in the district.     A Passion for Children and Families and Quality Inclusive Educational Experiences: I have an undeniable passion for children and families, and quality inclusive educational experiences.  At heart I am an introvert, but through the course of my career, I have realized the passion I feel for making sure every child has access to a quality education, pushes me out of that shell.  I’ve spent over 25 years doing just that. In the spring 0f 2019 I became more involved in school board business and was one of many who asked the Board at the time to pass a non-discrimination policy that was fully inclusive of all protected classes.   A Voice for Wayne Township: In 2020, I decided to run for a seat on the board of trustees to continue my support of all students. I also wanted to be a voice for the residents of Wayne Township, specifically the Noblesville residents who attend HSE schools, whose voice I felt like was often left out of the conversation. During my time on the board, we’ve faced some tough decisions, but I have always kept best interest of our students in mind first. After careful consideration, and discussion with my family, I have decided to run for re-election to continue to represent the voice of Wayne Township and our district as a whole, and to support all of the kids in our community. An Example of Public Service:  The reason I do nearly everything in my life and career, is for the example I set for my children.  I now have a high school age daughter at home, who like all kids, watches her mom, and is learning from my example.  I take pride in the example of public service I have shown her the last three and a half years, and showing her that if you want to see a change in your community, that you should step up and become a part of the work that it takes to make it happen. It hasn’t always been easy, and I’m grateful for the example that provides her as well, that we can do hard things. I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue to listen to the community, to continue to ensure all students and staff feel welcome in our schools, all while continuing to set an example of public service to my daughter. A Spirit of Celebration for HSE Students: My favorite part of serving on the board of trustees is the many opportunities I’m offered to both watch our students perform or compete and celebrating their successes.  In a work meeting about 10 years ago, someone asked me what I like to do in my spare time, before I could answer, another colleague answered “watching her daughter in all her events,” which was a fairly accurate assessment. Recently, I sent one of our principals a message remarking how I see him at nearly every event I also attend, and thanked him for his dedication to our students.  He responded, that like me, he also enjoyed celebrating our students, and it made me think back to my former colleague who I bet would now answer that what I like to do in my spare time is “watch all of HSE in all their various events!” A Curiosity and Passion for Listening and Learning: If re-elected, I will continue to bring curiosity and a passion for learning from, and listening to others and their needs, while also balancing the needs of the district and the community.

What is your vision for the future of our school district?

My vision is for HSE to be the model district that other schools call upon because they see we do it best, and they want to replicate our operations in their district. This includes financial health, as well as a strong collaboration between the Board, Administration, and Hamilton Southeastern Education Association to provide the best learning environment for our students. We all have the same goal, providing our students a world class education that prepares them for life after HSE, and I think it’s important for all sides to remember that. We’re on the same team. We want (or should want) the same thing, what is best for our students. If you’re making student-centered decisions, they are often decisions that also benefit our families, the teachers, the community, and ultimately the taxpayers who fund the district.  

What do you believe are the most critical issues facing our schools today?

Funding and Teacher shortages. School funding formulas are often not favorable to districts, particularly those with demographics similar to HSE’s. Additionally, the increases to school funding have not kept up with the rate of inflation, and the expansion of school choice has also drawn additional dollars away from public schools. Many public schools in Indiana are dependent on referendums, which are a lot of work and costly for schools to run, and have catastrophic consequences if not passed. Another critical issue is the increasing teacher shortage with fewer people entering the field, as well as fewer people staying in the field. This means there is a smaller pool of candidates for open positions, if there’s a pool at all.

What experience do you have that prepares you for this role?

I have many experiences that prepare me for continuing this role. First and foremost, I have served as a school board member for the last 3.5 years, providing me insight to what the role entails, and more importantly what it does not. During that time I have attended enough professional learning opportunities to achieve the Level 2 Advanced, in the Indiana State School Board Association’s Exemplary Governance Awards. Additionally, I have over 25 years of experience in the early education field, and a Masters Degree in Education. Almost 15 of that 25 years was spent as a Director of an Early Learning Program, which required me to manage a budget very similar to that of a school district, with staffing, consumable materials, as well as operational overhead. In that role I also evaluated staff and held them accountable to high expectations, which is also one of the primary functions of the board in oversight of the superintendent. Finally, my work at the state level Department of Education has provided me with a variety of applicable scenarios for understanding district level work, as well as the knowledge of the right questions to ask regarding student outcomes, to ensure we continue to move in the right direction for all students.

How will you ensure that the voices of parents, teachers, and students are heard in board decisions?

Families and students have a wider availability to reach out to me, when they see me at school functions, through my school board Facebook page, and or course my HSE email. I think it’s important to have your pulse on the entire committee, and not just your supporters who may have voted you in. The teachers are a little different in that our teachers’ association Hamilton Southeastern Education Association or HSEA is the official voice for the teachers, so that requires close collaboration with the HSEA President and not only hearing their voice, but coming from a place of trying to understand their position and why the association is taking that position. Of course, all members of the community are also able to speak at our monthly board meetings, prior to our vote on any topic. I encourage the community to use any and all of these means to make sure their voice is heard, but I do believe in data driven decisions. I use the community input to try to get to the best version of whatever we are voting on, but ultimately if the data says we should do it for students, then I believe we should do it for students.

What are your priorities for the school district’s budget?

My priority would be to have a balanced budget, and not a deficit budget. Having just combed through the budget in preparation for the referendum, I’m not sure there are any of our exemplary programs we are willing to cut to have any real impact on the budget. Additionally, without legislative action on school funding formulas, I’m not sure that HSE can ever be in a place where they don’t rely on a referendum to supplement the state funding. HSE has always had a good bond rating, speaking to the quality of our financials. I think we have room to continue to add to our bonds as well, to handle additional capital projects happening in the 10 year plan, and not raise the tax rate.

How would you ensure that the district is prepared for future challenges, such as growth or changes in educational standards?

We are already working toward gathering the information needed, including a demographic study, to tackle the necessary redistricting with the re-opening of Fishers Elementary next fall into a bigger building, as well as the distribution of students across the district in all grades to ensure classroom utilization is optimized, and assisting us in moving away from using portable classrooms. While I truly appreciate our students’ ability to choose which of our world class high schools to attend, a feeder system would certainly help prevent future redistricing needs as well, if done well.  HSE obviously needs to also position itself for future changes to graduation requirements, which are still in development, but appear they may require more work-based opportunities for students.  Currently only 7% of our students are participating in CTE experiences, and I’d like to see HSE figure out a way to offer these experiences in house, as we know that when we offer it, they are more likely to enroll, and we can ensure our students have access.

What else would you like voters to know about your candidacy?

I have been endorsed by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, the union that represents the teachers of the district. I’ve also been endorsed by Mental Health Now as a Mental Health Candidate, pledging that if re-elected, I will continue to make decisions that support improving access to mental health services and support for our students, with family permission. I’m also endorsed by Defense of Democracy, a nonpartisan organization, representing all political leanings and working across party lines with the understanding that being American is not defined by race, religion, or sexual identity.

How can voters contact you or learn more about your campaign?

https://sarahparksreese4hse.weebly.com