6 candidates are fighting for 3 seats on HSE’s school board, winners could change the district’s direction

The three open seats on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board are being challenged in the November election.

The outcome of the race could solidify the board's leadership and how it sets future goals and works with the district's new superintendent, hired earlier this year.

School board elections are nonpartisan in Indiana, so candidates don’t declare a political party. Some state lawmakers have tried to change that, but the effort has yet to become law.

In recent years, elections have shifted political dynamics on school boards like HSE, as more influence from outside organizations has come into play.

A group of conservative candidates won four open board seats in 2022. Swift changes followed under the new majority, including removing microaggressions from student handbooks and nearly rejecting a federal mental health grant.

The district’s first Black superintendent announced her resignation in September 2023 — just nine months after the majority took office.

All four of the 2022 candidates were endorsed by Fishers One, a conservative organization that provides funding and promotion to Republican hopefuls in Fishers government. The political action committee Friends of Fishers is affiliated with Fishers One.

The PAC raised $27,856 in the last election and spent less than half of the funds. Each endorsed candidate received $2,000. This year’s campaign finance information is expected in the weeks leading up to the election.

That group is once again involved in this year’s election. Three candidates — Terry Tolle, Greg Lannan and John Stewart — have been endorsed by Fishers One.

The remaining three candidates for HSE’s school board received endorsements from the Hamilton Southeastern Teachers Association. The teachers union selected newcomer Latrica Schooley and incumbents Sarah Parks-Reese and Suzanne Thomas as their picks for the board’s open seats.

School board members have four core responsibilities: adopting policies, approving the yearly budget and overseeing fiscal matters, setting goals, and hiring and evaluating the district’s superintendent.

School board members do not supervise the day-to-day operations of school districts. Candidates for at-large seats represent all residents within the district's boundaries.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools serves about 22,000 students and employs more than 2,500 people. The graduation rate was 98 percent at each of the district’s two high schools last year.

The election is Nov. 5. Early voting is underway.

Winners of the 2024 election will begin their four-year terms in January. Seven members sit on HSE’s board.

WFYI and Current co-hosted a HSE school board candidates forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at the City of Fishers Arts & Municipal Center Theatre, which you can watch here:
 

Delaware Township

Two candidates are in the race for this open seat.
 

Greg Lannan

Lannan is a newcomer to education. He is a graduate of HSE schools and works for a construction firm

Lannan is supported by Fishers One. The group conducted a video conversation with him where he shared he wants his son to have the same education he had in the district.

“These kids are going through a lot in the way the world operates now and so how do we set them up for success,” Lannan said in a campaign video.

He also said he believes uplifting teachers and managing taxpayer money are important.
 

Latrica A. Schooley

Schooley and her husband  have four children, two of whom are students at Fishers High School. Schooley works in health and life insurance. She has experience as a therapeutic foster parent.

Schooley said on her website that she would support student and data driven initiatives.

“I believe these initiatives should be grounded in collaboration with our students, educators, parents and the larger community to ensure that the needs of all students are met,” Schooley’s website reads.

Schooley is supported by HSEA.

Fall Creek Township

Two candidates are in the race for this open seat.
 

Suzanne Thomas (incumbent)

Thomas is an incumbent on HSE’s board. She was elected in 2020. Thomas works as a realtor in Fishers. Her four children attended HSE schools. They all have graduated. 

Thomas is supported by HSEA this election.

“This endorsement is a reflection of the ongoing collaboration and respect shared between parents, teachers, the board, and administration as we work together to ensure that Hamilton Southeastern Schools remains an excellent environment for both learning and teaching,” Thomas wrote on her campaign Facebook page. 

Thomas is a conservative. In a newsletter, Fishers One leaders attacked Thomas for her inability to “work well with others,” which is why they didn’t endorse her. 

“This behavior does not serve the best interest of our district's students, teachers or staff,” the group wrote. “When someone can no longer be productive, it’s time for a change.”

Thomas posted on her public Facebook page about a group that she would not name spreading “lies” about her. 

“School Board is non partisan… It should always be about the students, teachers and school district … I will not apologize for being data driven, asking the tough questions and holding people accountable,” Thomas wrote.
 

Terry Tolle

Tolle, who works as a chiropractor, has lived in Fishers for more than 20 years with his wife and three children.

Tolle previously served on the Hamilton Southeastern school board from 2015 to 2018. 

During that single term, he said he was part of moving the district’s nursing staff to Community Health Network. This led to cost-savings results, according to his campaign website. 

Tolle is supported by Fishers One. He previously donated to the Friends of Fishers PAC.

In a video interview, Tolle said he’s running for school board for students and the community. 

“We need to invest heavily into these kids because as our children go, so goes our country,” Tolle said.

Wayne Township

Two candidates are in the race for this open seat.
 

Sarah E. Parks-Reese (incumbent)

Parks-Reese was elected to HSE’s school board in 2020. Parks-Reese holds a Masters in Education from Ball State University. She has spent the bulk of her career in early childhood education. 

Currently, Parks-Reese serves as the director of kindergarten readiness for Indiana’s Department of Education. She has worked for the state since 2018.

Parks-Reese credits her work on the school board for mental health services, supporting HSE’s referendum, redistricting and governance. She said HSE’s student to mental health counselor ratio was “unacceptably high”. 

Parks-Reese is supported by HSEA.
 

John F. Stewart

Stewart is “not your average school board candidate,” according to his campaign website. The business owner and marketing executive has three children, all who attended Hamilton Southeastern schools. 

His two sons are on the autism spectrum. Stewart said on his website that it gave him a unique school experience. 

He believes HSE is a “$300,000,000 business,” which his background equips him to run. 

“I’m not an educator,” Stewart said in a campaign video. “I don’t think you need an educator on the school board.”

Stewart said the board’s role is to support the district’s superintendent. Stewart is endorsed by Fishers One. 

Rachel Fradette is the WFYI Statehouse education reporter. Contact Rachel at rfradette@wfyi.org.