Tye Hooten for NLCS School Board, District 3

11/09/2022

Thank you to everyone who supported me in my adventure to run for school board. I'll be deleting this page shortly. Congratulations to those who won! I hope you have a positive impact on our schools!

11/08/2022

11/08/2022

Tomorrow is your last chance to get out and vote. Polls are open 6am to 6pm. Vote Tye Hooten for NLCS School Board, District 3.

Voting Centers:
Courthouse
BNL
Parkview
Needmore
4H Fairgrounds

11/02/2022

Only one week left to get your votes in. Vote Tye Hooten for NLCS School Board, District 3 for positive change, transparency, and accountability! I need your votes to make it happen! Thank you for your support.

10/12/2022

Early voting starts today. Vote Tye Hooten for NLCS School Board!

10/04/2022

I hope you've had an opportunity to watch the NLCS School Board Candidate forum put on by the NLEA this past Thursday. If not, you should check it out at the link below.

During the conclusion, I announced publicly for the the first time that I plan to donate any income I earn from the school board to scholarships for NLCS students. That's roughly $7000 dollars in scholarships over a 4 year period after I recoup the money I've spent on the campaign. I look at being on the board as community service. As such, I don't plan to profit off of being a board member.

09/21/2022

North Lawrence Career Center (NLCC)

The NLCC holds a special place in heart. While in high school, I completed two years in the Electronics Program that was taught by Mr. David Jones. The knowledge gained from the classes allowed me to test out of classes related to my Associate’s Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. It also afforded me the opportunity to COOP at C&M Conveyer in Mitchell to gain experience within the field prior to attending school. I’ve used the knowledge and experience gained throughout this program continuously over the past 30 years in my career, at home, and while completing by Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering.

The programs offered by NLCC are a valuable resource for adolescence and adults. They provide the basic knowledge required to get a job directly out of high school and the opportunity to gain the necessary experience to be successful while you are being educated.

Related to this topic, I’ve spoken with two members of the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council who have spoken highly of Dr. Mungle, NLCC instructors and staff regarding their cooperation and willingness to help find solutions for the adult education programs. Job well done by all regarding the NLCC. I commit to being an advocate for the NLCC!

09/13/2022

Land Adjacent to Springville Community Academy (SCA)

This is a topic that has me continually asking, why? Why has Dr. Mungle sent letters threatening to seal doors at SCA? Why are we being so protective of a school/property that the administration chose to close? Why are we exploring building a fence on the property? Why are we pouring so much time, energy, and focus into a property when we have improvements we should be working on within our existing schools? After asking why, I keep coming back to another question. What educational purpose does it serve NLCS? When you take into account its location and proximity to other schools, I can’t think of any realistic educational purpose for the property.

While not serving an educational purpose, it does have monetary value as an asset. A portion of SCA sits on the property owned by NLCS. The septic that was used by Springville Elementary School sits on the property. I don’t know the value of the property, but I believe it’s worth much more than the $10K offered by SCA. What should NLCS do with this property? Given the information I currently have, my initial stance on this topic would be to sell the property to SCA assuming both parties can come to mutually agreed upon terms.

09/11/2022

Being a Good Steward of Taxpayer Dollars

I spent some time this last weekend at Otis Park watching the annual Claude Akins Memorial Golf Classic. I was able to talk with friends, family, and the general public about the school board and NLCS in general. I had some great conversations. One conversation, in particular, centered around being a good steward of taxpayer dollars really stood out. Most likely because I’ve known, respected, and admired the gentleman I had the conversation with for most of my life. He provided a great perspective that I’ve taken some time to reflect upon and relate it to my views as a potential board member.

I’ve talked a lot about teachers, educators, and administration in my previous posts. The largest group of people the school board represents and serves are the general public as taxpayers. These could be parents, grandparents, or people who have no connection with the schools other than paying their taxes. The school board must represent all taxpayers in an efficient manner while providing a high-quality education to the children of NLCS. I commit to being fiscally responsible with taxpayers' monies! I’m willing, able, and commit to making tough decisions based on data that’s in the best interest of our children and all the tax payers when necessary.

09/02/2022

I picked yard signs up this afternoon. I'll be out setting them up over the next few days. I appreciate your support! If anyone else would like one, please send me your address.

09/01/2022

Listening to Educators and Administrators

Too often, the voices of our educators and administrators are not heard. When they are heard, their opinions may not be clearly articulated by others. Our teachers and administrators are in their positions because they are the experts in education. They are the boots on the ground that live and learn with our children daily. Thank goodness that these men and women have a passion for education and putting our children first. Why don’t we listen to them more often?

It has become clear to me, after many conversations, that their voices and opinions were either not heard or ignored regarding OMS. We knew the teachers wanted to be in an environment where they could collaborate with other educators. We knew they didn’t want to teach split grade levels. We also knew the risk of losing those teachers to other school systems and openings within NLCS if we put them in undesirable teaching conditions. I believe we are in the same circumstances with the minimal staff currently at OMS. Do you risk them leaving the school system entirely or do you provide them with a desirable teaching position when one is available to prevent them from leaving?

There are currently 1607 teacher related opening on the Indiana Department of Education website. If you apply the principles of basic supply and demand with respect to teachers, supply has decreased while demand has remained the same or increased. Resulting in a market favorable for teachers because they can more easily find another job if they decide the grass is greener elsewhere. This is exacerbated more in Lawrence County because we have 5 school systems competing for teachers and students (NLCS, MCS, LCIS, SCA, and St. Vincent). We must start listening to our educators so we provide desirable conditions for all classrooms! When this occurs, our children will reap the benefits of a truly great learning environment!

https://www.facebook.com/Tye-Hooten-for-NLCS-School-Board-District-3-105127378991008

School

08/30/2022

Dr. Mungle

What is my stance on Dr. Mungle? That’s one of the main questions I’ve been asked since registering as a candidate for school board. My stance on Dr. Mungle is clear. He is a poor leader and a poor communicator. He is bad for NLCS and the community. He must go! If you read the section on why I decided to run for school board, one main point was to educate our children without the controversy. I truly believe that is unattainable while Dr. Mungle is working for NLCS. I’ve reviewed Dr. Mungle’s contract. The options as I understand them are below.

1. Fire him for cause – This option may or may not be viable. It would need good legal standing or NLCS could have a possible law suit on its hands.

2. Buy out his contract – This would cost $135,000. This timeline could be determined by the board.

3. Provide one year notice – This would cost $135,000 salary plus $60,000 the following year as a consultation fee.

I’m open to all three options and would work with the other board members to decide the best course of action to remove Dr. Mungle.