09/09/2024
Folks in the community will often ask me, “Are you still on the school board?” My reply is always the same. I am because it is a passion to lift up and improve the lives of children from ALL backgrounds. In the 16 years I have served, it has truly been a life honor to collaboratively work as a team with all our VCSC administration, award winning teachers and staff. As a team, we have added so many improvements and resources for the children of the Vincennes Community Schools. This includes having more extra-curricular activities, clubs, job and career programs and sports in our corporation history. While my 4 children have graduated from the VCSC, I have 4 grandchildren currently enrolled with several more to follow that will benefit from all these advancements. Much more importantly, we have 2700 students that profit from curriculum opportunities that many schools simply do not offer. Our focus on programming and “reaching” the unique interest that each student holds is very special in the Vincennes Community Schools. Our teachers and educators accomplish this on a daily basis.
Other improvements we have accomplished with the current board and administrative team include complete total elementary renovations, sports facility upgrades, (completed with a majority of local businesses) dramatic pay increases across all employees, added curriculum in the vocational, job trades and fine arts, early college (A.S. degrees) completed through Vincennes University but taught strictly by Lincoln faculty, and many more milestone improvement that advance our students. This includes the addition of the Washington Learning Academy to reach those that do not fit the traditional education model and School Resource Officers for our buildings. Just this year we opened Little Alice Learning Center for 3 and 4 year olds, instructed by veteran licensed Elementary teachers. We have done all of these things without any increase in the local school portion of property taxes and completed the payoff of Lincoln High School. Management continuity achieved all these system wide enhancements and has the VCSC where we are today!
In Indiana, the primary responsibility of a school board member is fiduciary, oversight of our various budget funds from local, state and federal sources. Currently, the VCSC is one of the financially strongest school corporations in Indiana for a system our size. This didn’t happen by accident. Approving and prioritizing the financial and human resources of our school district takes discipline, fairness, visioning for our operations and facilities and an understanding of budgets and finance. I hold a BS degree in Finance from the Scott School of Business at Indiana State University. After graduation, I spent 17 years at Gemtron/Schott and later used entrepreneurialism to build a local ongoing business in our community. I kindly ask for your continued support and vote on November 5th.
