5 candidates running for 4 seats on Warren Township school board

This voter guide was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana, Mirror Indy and WFYI as part of a partnership to increase coverage of township school districts in Marion County and cover the 2024 school board elections.

Four of seven school board seats are up for election in Warren Township schools, a district with about 11,800 students on Indianapolis’ east side. In the 2023-24 school year, about 55% of the district’s students were Black, about 20% were Hispanic and almost 70% identified as low income.

The district successfully passed an $88 million tax referendum last year to support transportation, technology, academic programs, safety upgrades and staff and counselor wages.

And elementary school students this spring led the way in growth on Indiana’s third grade reading exam at a time when education officials are doubling down on support for early literacy. Students in Warren Township tested nearly 12 percentage points higher than last year, while state averages grew only slightly by less than a percentage point.

This election

There are four seats up for election in Warren Township this year. One newcomer is entering the races this year as four incumbents look to secure their reelections.

Board members elected this fall will oversee the district’s spending of its new, eight-year referendum. They’ll also work with administrators as they seek to reduce absenteeism rates and boost students’ performance on the state’s standardized exam, ILEARN. Both issues were exacerbated in schools across the state during the coronavirus pandemic.

Who votes and how to vote

Residents living in Warren Township school boundaries can vote their choice for all four at-large seats up for election this year.

Voter registration is underway and ends on Oct. 7. Marion County residents can register to vote online.

Early voting begins on Oct. 8 at the City-County Building at 200 E. Market St. Additional early voting sites, including one at the Warren Township Government Center at 501 N. Post Road, open on Oct. 26 and can be found online.

On Election Day on Nov. 5, Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers, which can be found online.

Meet the at-large candidates

Five candidates are running for four at-large seats this year.

Howard Dorsey Jr. (incumbent)
Dorsey, 74, is an incumbent with past experience on the Warren Township board. He was first appointed to the board in 2003 and served through 2010 before seeking to return to the board for his current term in 2020. Dorsey is a retired Navy officer with three grown children. He works as a paraprofessional in Speedway schools and participates on several community boards serving the far east side.

Julie French (incumbent)
French, 62, was first elected to the Warren Township board in 2008 and has served as its secretary, vice president and president. She is mom to three graduates of Warren Central High School and has been active in their school PTAs. She works for the Indiana PTA and mentors Warren robotics students. French says improving students’ IREAD and ILEARN scores are her priorities, as are districtwide attendance rates. She’d also like to ensure kids’ social emotional well-being is taken care of. Her campaign website is here and her Facebook page is here.

Candee Hopkins
Hopkins, 59, is a first-time candidate for Warren Township’s school board. She works for the state and owns a bookkeeping business. Her grown son attended Warren Township schools before transferring to a private school to play football. Hopkins said she is concerned about ideology and politics in schools, though she declined to provide examples of this in Warren Township. She said her first priority as a school board member would be to “get back to the basics” of education by focusing on reading, writing and arithmetic.

LaShauna Triplett (incumbent)
Triplett, 51, was first elected to the Warren Township school board in November 2020 and is serving this year as its president. She is an educator and trauma-informed trainer who works at the social service nonprofit Mackida Loveal & Trip Outreach Center on the east side. She has children who are attending and have graduated from Warren Township. Triplett says safety across the district is a priority. She supports mental health and wellness initiatives for teachers and students.

Gloria Williams (incumbent)
Williams, 71, is a retired teacher and counselor who was first elected to the Warren board in November 2016. She spent 17 years as a classroom teacher where she emphasized tutoring, one-on-one instruction and building relationships with parents. She also worked for years as a counselor in IPS schools. Her children are products of Warren Township schools and she continues to volunteer with families in the community. If elected to another term, Williams said one of her priorities would be working with administrators to help students achieve better results on the state’s ILEARN exam.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.