By FRED SWIFT
The County Line
With less than three weeks left in the filing period for school board candidates, relatively few have stepped forward to declare their intentions to run. This is surprising because earlier this year there was considerable interest expressed by members of the public in the curriculum and financial priorities in some of Hamilton County’s six public school districts.
A total of 18 seats on non-partisan school boards are up for election Nov. 8. School boards determine spending for instruction, facilities and transportation for about 65,000 students in the county. In most local communities the school budget is the largest of any unit of government.
Most recent to file were Melba Kiser and Chuck Haberman II, both for at-large Noblesville seats, and earlier in the week, Doug Ozolins in Hamilton Heights’ White River district and Julie Chambers in Southeastern’s District 4.
As of Friday afternoon, there were only 15 candidates officially filed with the county elections office setting up four contests. And, no candidates have yet filed for six seats: three at Sheridan, three at Westfield and one at Carmel.
Qualifications for school board are basic: candidates must be a resident of the school district and a qualified voter in the district. Election officials predicted there will be more activity in the last few days prior to the filing deadline at noon Aug. 26.
I am looking forward to running against a worthy opponent in Carmel for District 1. I will continue to be moderate, work with all sides, and do my part to guide and support the mission and guiding principles of Carmel Clay Schools.