It may seem like Nov. 5 is far in the distance, but Election Day is fast approaching and with less than two months before early voting opens Oct. 8, local school board races are heating up.
School boards in Indiana are designed to be nonpartisan — candidates do not declare a party when running. However, conservative groups in Fishers have endorsed a slate of candidates for three open Hamilton Southeastern School Board seats and organized community meet-and-greet opportunities for those candidates.
Friends of Fishers, a political action committee that launched in 2022, advertised a candidate meet-and-greet and fundraiser Aug. 19. The online registration page stated, “Meet the HSE School Board Candidates” and listed three candidates — Greg Lannan (Delaware Township), John Stewart (Wayne Township) and Terry Tolle (Fall Creek Township). Those three have been endorsed by Fishers One, a conservative community organization.
There are six candidates running for school board. The other three are Latrica Schooley (Delaware Township), Suzanne Thomas (Fall Creek Township) and Sarah Parks-Reese (Wayne Township). Thomas and Parks-Reese are the incumbents.
Another event billed as a “town hall with three Hamilton Southeastern at-large school board candidates” has been scheduled for Aug. 26 at Britton Falls, a 55-and-older neighborhood that has a particularly large voter turnout every election. That event also features only Lannan, Stewart and Tolle.
Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair Jocelyn Vare said she’s concerned about how nonpartisan school board elections have become more politicized in recent years. She’s also heard concerns from Britton Falls residents about the Aug. 26 forum.
“It has not been transparent in notifying Britton Falls residents that it is, indeed, a partisan gathering,” she said. “It is a meet-and-greet with some candidates who are endorsed by a political (action committee) and it is not representative of all the candidates — all the nonpartisan candidates.”
Vare said she supports residents and groups who want to endorse their preferred candidates but thinks that events like these should be more transparent.
“Either invite everyone to make it a true candidate meet-and-greet for a nonpartisan race, or just simply disclose who you are and what candidates you’ve selected,” she said.
Liberty Belle’s founder Lynne Goodin publicized the Aug. 26 event at Britton Falls, but said it is not hosted by the organization. In an email response to questions about the event, Goodin said the notice clearly states who will be speaking at the town hall.
Goodin pointed out that another event — an Aug. 28 meet-and-greet with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick — has been scheduled at Britton Falls and doesn’t include all candidates for that seat.
The governor’s race is a partisan race, though, unlike local school board elections.
