Indianapolis Public Schools Board Elections Profiles

For those interested in the election, here are the profiles:

Indianapolis Star
Visions for IPS Success

A good public education system prepares children for future success and strengthens the community. That's why choosing four candidates to serve on the board of Indianapolis Public Schools may well be the most important vote you cast in the May 2 primary.

Eleven people are running to fill four spots on the seven-member Board of School Commissioners. We asked them to write about what they consider to be the most important issues facing IPS, the largest school district in the state with 38,000 students, 80 schools and a $518 million budget. We heard from nine of the candidates, who address issues that include student achievement, early-childhood education, athletic policies, safety, funding, and parental and community involvement.

Milton L. Baltimore Jr., At-large

Education: Arsenal Technical High School graduate; B.S. degree from Tennessee State University; master's degree from Butler University; attended Indiana University Law School one year.

Occupation: Retired IPS teacher of 34 years who currently works at the Finance Center.

Personal: Married, three adult children and three grandchildren.

My father was a well-known IPS teacher and administrator for more than 40 years. I am the only candidate who does IPS substitute teaching, and I see first-hand what is going on in IPS schools. I know that I have the expertise to meet the needs. IPS does not have a teacher on the School Board.

I am an avid supporter of Superintendent Dr. Eugene White, who is dedicated, creative, sincere and knows the problems of IPS students. So do I. I was raised in a large family and attended IPS schools.

The IPS board needs to work on budget problems with the public, governor, legislature, business leaders and others. More discipline authority needs to be given to the teachers and administrators.

Parents need more involvement, visits to the schools and to sit in classrooms. I will still do substitute teaching if elected to the board and will donate money to help with the deficient. I am sincere and know that IPS will become a great school system for all. I am asking for your vote to help me save IPS. It is time for a schoolteacher to be on the IPS board. Let me be that teacher.

Kelly E. Bentley, District 3, incumbent IPS board: Incumbent, past president.

Education: Attended IPS School 84, graduated from Broad Ripple High School.

Occupation: Work part-time for the Center for Family School Community Partnerships, a federally funded Parent Information Resource Center, and am a full-time student at IUPUI.

Personal: Wife and mother of two, both of whom have attended IPS schools. Board member, Horizons Urban Summer Youth Program, a summer academic enrichment program for IPS at-risk youth. I have been classroom volunteer and have lobbied the legislature on behalf of IPS children.

IPS has made great progress over the past eight years. Elementary students have made significant academic gains, the achievement gap has been narrowed and new programs have given parents expanded choices. Conversion of large high schools into small schools has fostered individualized education. Still, too many children fail the ISTEP-Plus exam and too many others drop out.

All children can learn. But some children must overcome formidable barriers to the learning process. We need to continue to partner with parents, community groups, social service agencies, faith communities, health-care professionals and business leaders to address these barriers to improving academic performance.

Quality public education is critically important to our city, but changes must occur in order to meet the needs of all students. Those changes include some type of equitable merit-pay system in order to ensure adequate recognition and compensation for the best and brightest teachers, and freedom to provide incentives to teachers of math, science, special education and other areas where we are experiencing shortages.

The state has changed how school districts are funded. IPS faces a $24 million deficit -- and unlike the federal government, we must balance our budget. The challenge will be to cut costs without damaging the quality of classroom instruction. Last year, I led our effort to close schools to save money; ultimately, the IPS Board of School Commissioners made the very painful decision to close three buildings.

IPS faces other funding challenges. The district spends more than $4 million a year for a police force to ensure that schools are safe for all children; we receive no additional funding for this purpose. We are required to provide free textbooks to all students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch; the state pays only a fraction of that cost, and over the past five years, this mandate has cost over $10 million.

We serve more than 3,000 non-English-speaking students at a cost of more than $5 million per year; the district receives less than $1 million in funding for this. These examples are the reason that one of my highest priorities has been advocacy for adequate state funding for IPS. I am also a strong proponent of full-day kindergarten and am committed to finding a creative way to provide this to IPS children.

When I decided to run for the board in 1998, I wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of children and I believe I have. There are no magic bullets, no tidy ideological fixes that substitute for the consistent hard work necessary to achieve real, sustainable improvements. If we are to realize the vision the board shares with Superintendent Eugene White, we must continue that hard work.

Michael D. Brown, District 5, incumbent IPS board: Incumbent, current president.

Education: Earned master's of divinity, doctorate of theology and B.S. degree in communications.

Occupation: Pastor, Positive Force Ministries; human resources supervisor, United Parcel Service; former math and science teacher; volunteer IPS basketball coach, referee and mentor.

The Indianapolis Public Schools district has some of the best and brightest students in the nation. The system includes hard-working parents and dedicated teachers and administrators, all committed to the best academic and social interests of the children we are blessed to serve.

As the president of the state's largest school district, it has been my pleasure to help lead IPS in a direction that both addresses our shortfalls, while expanding efforts and initiatives that have led to positive academic outcomes. I have watched and participated in efforts by our district to eliminate some of the barriers that have prohibited too many students from maximizing their potential.

To suggest that we are meeting the total needs of our students and community would be a fallacy. Those who do not identify the many issues we must continue to address with regard to achievement have no place serving IPS' children or families.

There is no question that IPS suffers too high a dropout rate and far too low graduation rates.

Like many school districts with similar demographics, IPS has also fallen victim to an achievement gap where many of our African-American students lag behind their counterparts in core academic subject. When any of our students exits school ill-prepared to compete in the local and global marketplaces, our entire system suffers.

Quite frankly, despite the tireless efforts I have witnessed by our staff, much work remains if we are to ensure all children succeed during their IPS careers. Despite the statistics, however, I remain supremely confident that all children can succeed.

I am keenly aware of the issues the system faces. But I have never been more optimistic that IPS will become the world-class school district we all envision.

My vision for IPS is rooted in basic values that not only strengthen educational environments, but the entire community. That vision begins first with strengthened parental and community involvement.

With a better-engaged community behind us, IPS can enjoy an increased focus on accountability and academic rigor. We can ensure the increased options such as the small-schools initiative will work in the way they are intentioned. We can gain the grass-roots presence necessary to fight for the level of funding that will assure our children gain access to the physical fitness and mentally enriching activities we should provide.

IPS is indeed moving in the right direction. And I will not rest until the promise of the best possible education for all of our children is realized. As a life long supporter of public education, I am very encouraged with the progress being made for our students. However, we should be tempered because much work remains so that all of our children's academic futures are bright.

Barry Campbell, At-large

Occupation: Business owner.

Education: Graduate of Lawrence Central High School and Valparaiso University.

Personal: Father of IPS first-grader.

I wish Superintendent Dr. Eugene White all the best in his goal of transforming Indianapolis Public Schools into the best urban school district in the nation. But more importantly and more immediately, I would like to see IPS become academically competitive with the Marion County township districts. White is the right man at the right time to do exactly that.

Alternative schools and programs are fine for the few students who are eligible or are chosen by lottery to participate, but I am more interested in raising the academic performance of the district as a whole.

The purpose of any school is to teach. Teachers teach. IPS teachers are underpaid when compared to the average teacher salaries of the surrounding townships. If we want to hire and retain the best teachers, we need to offer them a competitive salary.

Do we need more money to do that? No. IPS already spends more money per pupil than all but 10 other school districts in the state. Of the neighboring township districts, only Pike spends more. Where is IPS spending its money? A comparison of IPS employees to those of the average township districts reveals an excessive number of administrators and certified employees other than teachers.

While IPS has more than three times as many students as the average of the township districts, it has almost five times as many administrators and other certified employees. Obviously, these additional personnel have not improved academic performance. If IPS reduced the ratio of these employees per student to the average of the surrounding districts, the budget shortfall would be virtually eliminated.

Economies of scale would suggest that IPS should be able to provide the same services to students as the other districts at a lower cost per student. Any services that could be provided at lower cost by contractors than by IPS employees should be contracted out. These additional savings would allow us to pay teachers what they need and deserve.

Only when we treat our teachers right can we expect them to produce the same academic results from students as the neighboring school districts do. We can treat them right by adequately compensating them, by allowing them to teach with as little administrative interference as possible, and by encouraging and respecting their input on board policies such as curriculum and student discipline.

Children are eager to learn. We must ensure that teachers are as eager to teach. As the father of an IPS first-grader, I am driven to ensure that my daughter receives a decent education. As an IPS board member, I will work to enable the teachers to perform at their best. I look forward to assisting Dr. White to achieve his goal. But IPS needs to look to its neighbors for examples of higher academic performance at no greater cost.

Barbara Coleman-Knight, At-large, incumbent IPS board: Incumbent (appointed a year and a half ago).

Education: Graduate of Shortridge High School, Indiana Business College and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Occupation: Have worked for more than 25 years at the Indiana Department of Education as an education consultant in the Center for School Improvement and Performance.

Personal: Married to Charles "Tony" Knight and one daughter; both are Shortridge graduates. Serve on PTA and Montessori Parent Advisory committees.

IPS faces inadequate funding. My solution is to encourage the legislature to prioritize equitable funding for public education.

We know that third-grade success and failure data are used to project the amount of prison space that will be needed in the future. We must all work together to correct and prevent this growing problem through quality education. It is far more cost-effective to the state to invest preventively during early-childhood years than to feed, clothe and house inmates later in life.
Our best investment of state dollars is to provide each child with a quality education that will allow a lifetime of self-sufficiency.

IPS serves a large number of children who need a range of additional assistance to help them have a successful educational experience. The reality is that some expenses for classroom instruction do not disappear even if some students relocate to schools outside the district, because support structure costs remain stable.

Continuing expenses of building mortgages, utilities and salaries for teachers and administrative and support personnel must still be paid even if there are fewer students in a classroom. We must have a commitment from our legislature and governor to prioritize equitable funding for public education.

My vision is to produce students who graduate from high school empowered with a range of options to pursue their choice of career and higher academic interests. Recently, Dr. Eugene White initiated a program, Parents as First Teachers. Our district will work with parents to provide educational experiences from the time of birth so that all students will be prepared with a basic foundation when they enter school.

In elementary grades, Dr. White has also started a Teach and Re-Teach Mastery Learning program to ensure that students have the knowledge and skills needed as they progress through their educational experience. Our high schools have also been restructured into small schools to improve attendance and academic experiences.

My vision for IPS is also to provide educational experiences for students to become well-rounded, productive and contributing citizens. Academics are our first priority, but we realize that student participation in sports offers valuable benefits including team work, leadership development, goal setting, relationship building and self-discipline.

Our superintendent offers an extraordinary vision of overall excellence for every area of IPS. Our challenge is to improve our athletic program without significant cost and without offering less opportunity for participation in sports at each high school. My solution would be to let each high school keep its current sports programs in place supplemented by camp training experiences, enlist the help of the parks department, enhance volunteer efforts to coordinate elementary sports programs and offer a high school sports magnet option at only one location.

Finally, my overall solution for IPS challenges was to hire our highly qualified superintendent, Dr. Eugene White.

Maureen Jayne, At-large

Education: Graduate of Broad Ripple High School; attended Indiana University Bloomington and now working on a B.S. in general studies at IUPUI.

Occupation: Licensing adviser/secondary student-teaching assistant, IUPUI School of Education.

Personal: Husband, Tim, and three children who attended IPS schools.

I have a vision that Indianapolis Public Schools will be able to offer full-day kindergarten to every child, with preschool opportunities as well; that the graduation rate will become 100 percent; and that IPS succeeds in its renewal project.

Indianapolis has a public school district to be proud of. IPS opens its doors to 38,000 students every school day, and 81 percent of those students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Poverty walks around this school district. But every child has a school to go to.

IPS needs to reach children even in the preschool years. Research states that poverty severely impacts educational growth. I would like to see all necessary resources devoted to alleviating symptoms of poverty as children prepare to attend school, including nutrition and health care. Many free or low-cost services are currently offered by the city, businesses and nonprofits. These services could be bundled in a package easy for parents to take advantage of.

Research has shown that the earlier the brain is stimulated, the more its influence on academic achievement. Full-day kindergarten will academically strengthen at-risk students. Indiana is behind the rest of the country in providing this basic building block. Any vision of IPS' future must include programs that will help the very youngest children in the district. This fall the class of 2018 will enter first grade. We must see them succeed.

Twelve years later, those first-graders should be high school seniors graduating. I support the small schools that have been implemented in IPS high schools. Every student is known to a group of teachers. Communication between school and home can improve. Smaller class sizes would help. We mustn't shortchange high school education. I see prioritizing education paying huge dividends to society.

IPS is two-thirds of the way through a building renovation and construction campaign. There are brand new and renovated schools in the neighborhoods, adding property value and community pride. The last third of the project involves mostly elementary schools. Our community must find a way to finance this project. IPS is as important an urban renewal project as anything else in our city.

The heart of my vision for the future of IPS is to expand the community's perception of who IPS students are. There are students who are achieving in IPS. There are students participating in extra-curricular activities. There are graduates in every field. We all need to be visiting IPS schools. Parental involvement is important. Every school needs an active Parent Center where parents can feel welcomed and informed.

Very importantly, all of us must act on reforming and improving our public schools without hurrying the educational process. There is a time for everything. We must be careful to protect the learning moment.

Derek Redelman, District 3

Education: Attended IPS schools and graduated from Northwest High School; B.A. from Miami University (Ohio) in public administration and political science; MBA from University of Chicago.

Occupation: President and founder of Redelman Consulting, a public policy research and advocacy firm focusing primarily on K-12 education issues; former senior fellow and director of education policy at Hudson Institute, executive director of the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and Project E; director of education policy for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and policy analyst for the Indiana Department of Education.

Personal: Wife, Shellie, and three children.

May 2 is a critical date for the future of Indianapolis Public Schools. The recent hiring of Eugene White as superintendent holds great promise for some of the challenges that face IPS, but ultimate success will depend on the election of a board that will support and complement his leadership.

As a professional education researcher, I know that IPS can do better. There are plenty of examples here and throughout the country that are proving that urban schools can be successful. Three common themes to success are high expectations, increased options for parents and efficient use of resources. These also represent the areas where I have focused my own work in education.

On high expectations: I encouraged Indiana policy leaders to rewrite state standards that had ranked among the worst in the country and now rank among the best. I helped write Indiana's new accountability law and helped push the Core 40 high school graduation requirement. I also wrote a new law requiring better reporting of high school dropouts and have been a leading advocate for fixing Indiana's broken state testing system.

On choice: I helped write Indiana's charter school law and originated the idea of letting Mayor Bart Peterson oversee charter schools. I have served as a consultant to national charter school leaders and have helped more than a dozen charter schools get started in Indiana, including 21st Century Charter School, Tindley Accelerated School and KIPP school.

On finance: I have helped highlight the majority of education funds that are spent outside of the classroom, much of that on administration and construction debt. I have also helped charter schools to develop successful operating budgets with almost half the funds that are available to traditional public schools. And I have advocated for greater flexibility to allow local districts to focus funds on local priorities.

Each of these areas holds great potential for IPS. In less than a year, Dr. White has gotten a great start on raising expectations and expanding options for parents. I am proud of the work that I have done to help make those changes possible -- especially my work on charter schools -- and I look forward to helping Dr. White expand and implement those efforts.

IPS also faces some tough budget decisions, thanks to poor management by the current board and a continuing exodus of students. With an operating budget that now exceeds $13,000 per student, I can assure taxpayers that I will not seek higher taxes to overcome this challenge. I can also assure current IPS families that teaching positions and other classroom expenditures will be the absolute last place that I will support cutting.

Continued changes in IPS will not be easy, but the futures of our kids, our neighborhoods and our city all depend on it. I look forward to helping with the aggressive reform agenda that Dr. White has recently initiated and I would appreciate your vote on May 2 to help make sure those reforms continue.

Judie Williams, At-large
Education: Attended Hartford, Conn., public schools K-12. Degrees from Central Connecticut State University (B.S. in elementary education), master's degrees from Indiana University (counseling) and Butler University (administration).

Occupation: Served as an educator in Connecticut, Massachusetts, IPS and Wayne Township. Has had personal and professional experiences in private, parochial and public schools.

Personal: A son who attended IPS schools and is an IUPUI graduate and a daughter who graduated from Park Tudor and Purdue University; two grandsons.

As an educator and parent, I was perplexed at the inconsistency in delivery of educational instruction throughout Indianapolis. I learned from my son's educational experience that I had to be an advocate for his success. I learned that I could not just send him to school and expect him to come home with the attitude, knowledge and skills necessary to succeed at the next level.

I learned as I transitioned from suburban to urban schools that there was not equity in resources and expectations.

One thing I know for sure is that a public school system can provide the resources, programs, and opportunities necessary for student success.

My vision for all children in IPS is that they be inspired to work hard and empowered to take advantage of the opportunities available to live purposefully in this world.

There are multiple challenges in IPS that require action to change the direction of the system. It appears that the longer children are in IPS schools, the dumber they are getting. It will take a comprehensive effort to focus on what matters. The IPS budget should reflect that a major percentage of funds are directly channeled into classroom/certified teaching. Presently, it appears that there is almost a 50-50 split between support staff and direct teaching staff. We are reading about teacher cuts when direct time-on-task instruction is a critical area in improving student performance.

It is time for IPS to make the changes necessary to improve student performance.
Teachers need ongoing training and tools to access information available to support student instruction and learning.

Our expectations will determine the attitude and achievement of our children and families. We must go beyond our comfort zones to engage families and communities in the learning process. We must look truthfully at where we are as a district and determine where we need to be. Our time and talent must reflect our mission. We want all students to learn at high levels and reach their potentials to compete in a global world.

Where are we in ensuring opportunities, resources and programs for all children?

All students need to have the information necessary for success at each level of instruction. It is the responsibility of the educational community to know what students must do and what level of competency is necessary to show mastery. This information must not be given to some and kept from others. When information is denied to a group of citizens they become weak and are left behind.

We must do things differently and parents must be a key to this change. Our school system is in crisis. This creates an opportunity to make a positive difference for the future of our society.

Olgen Williams, At-large

Education: Attended IPS School 41 and Shortridge High School; earned B.S., master's and doctoral degrees.

Occupation: Executive director of Christamore House Family and Community Center. Substitute teacher and Sunday school teacher for more than 29 years.

Personal: Wife, Mary, and 11 children.

I have worked with many Indianapolis community and professional organizations. A great deal of that work is centered on children. I am blessed to have a career that allowed me to address these pressing issues of community and youth.

I have lived in the IPS district for more than 45 years.

My memberships and community activities include Human Relations Advisory Council of Wayne Township Schools for more than 18 years, president of the Haughville Community Council, Westside Concerned Dads, board member of Indiana Youth Institute, advisory board member of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Urban Scouting Committee, Great Indianapolis Progress Committee, Indianapolis Race Relations Council, Westside Education Task Force Committee, and George Washington Community School Committee and currently serve on IPS Wendell Phillips School 63 Re-opening Committee.

I am running for the board because I think we need board members who are more accountable to the community and visible to the voters, IPS staff and parents of the students. Some board members are invisible to their community after elections and therefore are not in touch with the staff of IPS, parents, students and community. A board member must listen to the ideas and concerns of the whole community. The School Board should be accountable to the taxpayers to give assurance that funds are being spent wisely and efficiently.

I have concerns about the safety of students and staff and will support plans to ensure that all schools have adequate security and that staff be trained to handle these issues. I would like to see more programs to allow students to receive extra help to pass the ISTEP-Plus and graduation qualifying exams and graduate from high school.

I would like to see more support for:
All children to reach their full potential and become happy, successful adults.
Fostering cooperation among homes, business, churches and schools.
Getting the views and aspirations of parents so they can be partners with the school system in developing programs that help create a culture of learning in the homes.
Helping to close the disparity between the goals of parents and those of educators.
Ending the frustrations of many teachers over lack of control of curriculum planning and decision-making.

If elected to the school board I would continue to serve the Indianapolis community tirelessly to give all children my best to ensure they are receiving an education that is second to none.