The Republic conducted on-camera interviews with candidates in each of the three races on the ballot for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board this November.
Voters are able to vote for candidates in all three districts. Early voting gets under way today. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Below are the interviews with District 7 candidates Samantha Ison and Nicole Wheeldon, along with a transcription of their answers, slightly edited for clarity.
Ison
Click here to watch the interview with Samantha Ison
Name: Samantha Ison
Age: 38
Occupation: Owner of Samantha Ison-Shelter Insurance Company
City of residence: Columbus
Educational background: Northwest State Community College, Business Management
Volunteer experience: Foundation for Youth Basketball Coach, Senior Project Board Volunteer, Volunteer Coach for Parks and Rec Soccer, awarded multiple scholarships to graduating BCSC Seniors.
Previous elected office held: None
Wheeldon
Click here to watch the interview with Nicole Wheeldon
Name: Nicole Wheeldon
Age: 44
Occupation: Plant Manager for Cummins Inc., Columbus Midrange Plant in Walesboro
City of residence: Columbus
Educational background: Batesville High School; BS in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
Volunteer experience: United Way of Bartholomew County; Feed My Starving Children
Previous elected office held: BCSC School Board (2020-present)
Ison
Q: A large focus of BCSC and school districts across the state is on the foundational reading skills for 2nd and 3rd graders. How do you think BCSC is doing in helping those students along and how might you contribute in ensuring students have the best shot at passing IREAD-3?
Ison: I think that BCSC is doing a much better job since COVID. I mean, it was really hard when kids were not in the schools. I love the Book Buddy program. I think that that is an amazing program. I think that they have focused a lot more on it. So I think that they’re doing a lot better. The second part of that question, I feel like we could continue to do better by giving children real books. I know in elementary schools, that’s usually how it goes, right? But we also need to make sure that we’re sending books home with kids, and that parents take the time to make sure that the children are reading the books. I feel like currently, we have a lot of focus on what BCSC is doing wrong, and we need to recognize that it’s a team effort, and we should make sure that at home, we are reading and making it more fun.
Q: What are your thoughts on Envision 2030, BCSC’s facilities plan?
Ison: I believe that all the schools do need to be renovated, especially like Northside and things of that manner. It’s a $500 million bond. Of that $500 million there’s, I mean, 200 of its interest. So I have concerns there. I also have safety concerns on how we are designing the schools. Currently, there’s a lot of glass which is not bulletproof, and it’s going to be more expensive to maintain as it breaks. So I’m curious if they’ve thought that through responsibly. I think it takes away the run, hide and fight aspect when there is an intruder, whether it’s with a gun or not. Because if you have what are glass hallways, per se, it makes a little bit more difficult. But I do think there’s great things with it. I don’t know how much it’s actually going to help our scores, per se, but I think it’s definitely going to look a lot nicer. I’m also concerned, even with Parkside, I know that their roof is still leaking yet they’re completely finished with that renovation. I just want to make sure that we’re being efficient with what we are doing with Envision 2030, there’s always the good and the bad, and I think that we just need to look into the bad more to make sure we can cross a few of those off the list.
Q: Do you think that teachers are being compensated adequately? What can BCSC do to improve teacher retention and recruitment?
Ison: Great question. I actually spoke with a teacher yesterday that said that he had to leave BCSC because he couldn’t afford to live on teacher pay. So no, teachers are not being paid enough. I think that we could definitely increase their pay. And I think we have to get rid of the toxicity in the schools. Bringing back discipline and structure is going to be key to make sure that our teachers are safe. No one wants to work in an unsafe environment. And when our teachers are being attacked by students, that’s a big issue. Also they don’t want parents to be emailing them and calling them and cussing them out because their kid did something wrong or they messed up. I think the teachers need to be looked at as the front line of our schools. Without them, we do not have schools. But that being said, bringing back more of the respect on both levels and recognizing that we’re teams would also help with retention. At the end of the day, we all have the same goal of educating our students and our children and making sure that they’re safe. And we need to stop battling who is right and who is wrong.
Q: The board has devoted a sizable amount of time in school board meetings during the past 10 months to the accessibility of certain library materials. Do you think BCSC has the correct policy in place for addressing these concerns and would you like to see anything additional be done?
Ison: I don’t think BCSC has the transparency that needs to be had when it comes to what is in our libraries. A lot of people believe that with the book banning, we want to ban books like Charlotte’s Web or To Kill a Mockingbird. That’s not the case. I have yet to find one candidate that says that they actually want to ban a book. So I want to make that clear that nobody is saying ban all the books. I believe in parental consent. I am a mother of children that are in BCSC, and if I do not want my child to have a book, I feel like that’s my parental right just as much so is it my parental right to allow my child to have a book. Currently, we are to email the librarian if we do not want our kid to have a book and hope for the best. Unfortunately, that’s all that we get whenever we are asked how to handle the situation. And I do feel like BCSC has the technology to make that policy better. We have the parent portal. We have electronic permission slips being sent home constantly. And I’m not saying that we need, necessarily have permissions slips per book that has rape, sexual content, teaching kids how to shoot up a school, none of that. But we should be able to put checkmarks at least on a book, if we do not want our kids to have it. And then when our kid goes to check it out, it brings up an alert of some sort. We now have self checkouts in some of our schools. So, how does that work? If the librarians not even scanning out the children. We have substitute librarians at times. What if they do not have the information that that parent does not want their child to have the book. I’m glad that there is a policy in place, but I feel like we can make it better to keep our parental rights at the forefront.
Q: In recent years, school board races and school board meetings themselves have become increasingly charged at times. How would you work with others that may not agree with you on a specific subject?
Ison: Yes, you’re completely right. We have, not even candidates, but board trustees being threatened with their life verbally currently. And I have had very good conversations with people that disagree with me. And then I’ve had more of the close-minded, argumentative, you are wrong, I am right, type-of-conversations, and I do my very best to just say, ‘We’re not here to argue. We’re here to work on the kid’s futures.’ And I will always go back to, if we can’t agree to disagree and we can’t compromise and recognize that we are here for our children’s future, to make sure that they are successful, then we’re failing our children, and I don’t think anyone really wants to fail their children or the community. And I think just making it very clear that I’m not here to fight or to argue or to spread gossip or to twist people’s words like it has been with me. I want to hear everybody. I want to hear from everyone, even those who disagree with me. I just don’t want the twisting of my words and the manipulation. I mean, currently, we have the CEA calling people and sending text messages to teachers saying that I don’t agree with the referendum, and it’s going to cost them $15,000 in pay, because they didn’t read all of my information in the questionnaire. It’s unfortunate that there are so many people gaslighting our teachers and our community, and we need to be better. So how do I handle that? I just keep reminding people that I’m not here to fight, I’m here to work together for the common good.
Wheeldon
Q: A large focus of BCSC and school districts across the state is on the foundational reading skills for 2nd and 3rd graders. How do you think BCSC is doing in helping those students along and how might you contribute in ensuring students have the best shot at passing IREAD-3?
Wheeldon: I think that BCSC has shown an upward trend in IREAD scores the last two years. So I think this is positive. It is showing that a lot of the programs that we have in place are reaching kids, are helping them progress, are getting them to where we need to be, but we are not where we want to be. And several weeks ago, we did get an update from the team of people who are very focused on improving (IREAD scores) and shortly thereafter, actually in the last meeting, they had made a proposal to hire some more literacy coaches. So that’s one thing I think we need to do. We obviously need more resources focused on helping our kids with those fundamental reading skills. In addition, I think there are a lot of things that are going well, and we need to enhance and expand. So I will give Book Buddies as an example of one of those programs that has been wildly successful. The data we got in that board meeting several weeks ago, was that every kid who had a book buddy, actually passed the test. So there’s a really strong point that that program is working. I think there’s a lot that we can do to support teachers in their understanding of how do we teach a variety of students, and so offering professional development and additional resources to them, I think is important. The role of the board in this problem, if you will, is really to listen to the people within the district that are kind of front lines with our students. Understand them best, ask them what they need and make sure that the resources that they request are available to them. So I trust that we have people that care very deeply about the reading skills of our kiddos.
Q: What are your thoughts on Envision 2030, BCSC’s facilities plan?
Wheeldon: I am pro-Envision 2030 and have voted as such in recent meetings. I think that there are a lot of reasons for us to make these investments, and I think the timing is perfect. And so, number one, this can be a tax neutral project for us. And so, as debt rolls off, we add new debt to replace and so we can do this with really no impact to the citizens of Columbus. I think the other reason why the timing is perfect is that we have an intense focus on safety and security, and in some cases, some of the ways that we’re going to improve the safety and security of our buildings is by making necessary renovations to them. So that is at the forefront of the changes. I’ve also personally had an opportunity with my own kids to travel to different school systems and see the resources that they have available, and I think we’re behind. There are some situations where I’ve looked at the classrooms, the sizes, the dating of the furniture, the STEM resources and I think we can do better for our kids. So I think it’s an important way for us to invest in their future. Lastly, maybe second to lastly, I would say that we are in the new era where people have a choice on where they live and work, and they can be different places. School systems are a huge, huge reason that people join a community now. You can work virtually, and I think that we need to attract and the school system is here to help attract and retain people in our community. We want to be seen as a destination, obviously. And then lastly, I do believe in the 12th elementary school. I think Southside is at capacity. I think some of the districting we’ve had to do to accommodate the growing population on that side of town is not ideal for our kiddos. I think it’s time. We have had schools in that side of town in the past, many, many years ago, and it’s just where the population is now. So I think that’s the right investment for us to make as well.
Q: Do you think that teachers are being compensated adequately? What can BCSC do to improve teacher retention and recruitment?
Wheeldon: I will never say we pay teachers enough, because that’s a tough job, and it’s a very important job. But, I will say that I think that we are competitive. We, in our last contract, starting teachers are just over $50,000 a year. That’s very competitive, especially in the state of Indiana. And it has worked in terms of retention. So in our last school year, we hired 60 teachers at the beginning of the school year. And in years past, that’s been 100 or more. So each year we’re having to hire fewer and fewer teachers because teachers are staying around with us. I think with the referendum’s help, we have helped make their salaries competitive enough that they want to stay and work here in Bartholomew County. In addition to pay, I think the things that we need to do to retain teachers are things like the resources we give them, like our buildings, to make sure that they’re adequate and support the kind of learning environment that will help them be successful. And then I also think that as as a board member, our role is to also look at our policies through the lens of a teacher and make sure we’re accommodating their needs, their voices, etc, as we make those, so those are a few ways that I would want to support our teachers retention.
Q: The board has devoted a sizable amount of time in school board meetings during the past 10 months to the accessibility of certain library materials. Do you think BCSC has the correct policy in place for addressing these concerns and would you like to see anything additional be done?
Wheeldon: I believe we have the correct policies in place. And again, this is unique because I am a current board member, so I have supported the policy adjustments that were made last year, and I’ve also been a part of the book banning, I guess, if you will, or removal processes recently. We are meeting state requirements. Obviously, that’s table stakes, that’s where we should be. In addition to that, though, we already have policies in place that allow for parents who have restrictions that they’d like to place on their own child available to them. So parents can go to a librarian, they can go to an administrator, they can start with the teacher if they feel like there’s some material that is inappropriate for their child. I think that’s the right policy to have. We should allow parents to parent their children. I do not believe that we need to go further than that, segregate book, some of the other concepts that have been put on the table in terms of how to address this problem, I think the processes we have today are adequate to meet the needs of each individual parent, as well as allow our librarians to manage the content.
Q: In recent years, school board races and school board meetings themselves have become increasingly charged at times. How would you work with others that may not agree with you on a specific subject?
Wheeldon: As a sitting school board member, how I have worked with others— we’ve had various public work sessions. As we make major policy changes, we do value input from the team. We do talk with one another on changes that we may need to make, and so that’s a way for us to hear the voices and invite others into the conversation. You’re also always available at board meetings, before and after. I find myself talking with folks by email, I’ve given people my phone number, you know, I think doing as much as you can to be individually available too, a lot of times people I found may not want to speak openly in a board meeting, but they are happy to have one-on-one conversations. So I think making yourself available, being approachable, and going into things with an open mind are the most important things we can do to ensure that we’ve got all the right inputs to make a decision.
