On September 24th, five school board candidates attended a debate at IUSB to introduce themselves as potential school board members and answer questions from the community. Candidates from Districts 1, 2, and 5 will be running for election in 2018. In District 1, Ruth Warren is running against John Pinter, In District 2, Stan Wruble is running against Oletha Jones, and in District 5, Stuart Greene is running unopposed.

Ruth Warren is a retired high school teacher and administrator in the South Bend Community School Corporation. She believes she will bring an important teacher perspective to the board, and stated, “The educational community deserves just as much representation on the board as the business community.” She wants the teachers to be able to speak freely and honestly to the board, and to focus on supporting the teachers with sufficient salaries and resources instead of using money for unnecessary additions because “we cannot continue to remain stagnant. We are losing teachers too quickly and are unable to hire new ones.” She hopes to bring positive change to the corporation as a teacher, administrator, and mother of three children who attended South Bend schools.

Warren’s opponent, John Pinter, is a professional consultant for nonprofit organizations. He wants to focus on “marketing” South Bend public schools to students, parents, and teachers in the city. Pinter believes making schools attractive with new programs will stop the corporation from losing voucher-using students to private schools. He also believes it is important to be innovative when trying to solve the bussing problems in the corporation, and referenced Uber as a base for future ideas.

Stan Wruble, current president of the school board, is running for reelection because ”I want to keep serving, public service is important to me.” He supports increase in teacher and employee pay, and wants to make sure the teachers are trained effectively in how to use the new resources they are given. Wruble also believes in restorative justice as an effective tool for disciplining students because ”not only do you have less behavioral problems, you have students striving to be better.” He emphasized an alternative focus of teaching Indiana curriculum, and believes ”we spend too much time worrying about test scores.”

Running against Stan Wruble is Oletha Jones, education chair for the St. Joseph County NAACP chapter. She is seeking better communication between the school board and the people,  and claims ”the community is not aware of what is happening in our schools.” She supports more speaking time for visitors at school board meetings, and overall more involvement with the state from every member of the corporation, because that is where the big changes are going to happen. In terms of bussing issues, she would like to look into how school choice is affecting transportation.

Finally, Stuart Greene, the unopposed candidate for district 5, is a retired English and African studies professor at the University of Notre Dame. He wants to stop silencing teachers and the general public, and wants to get the community involved in making important decisions, which could involve live broadcasting meetings to those who are unable to attend. Although many other candidates are proposing new technological innovations and adding more to the curriculum to solve the problems the corporation is facing, Greene believes we need to focus on supporting the teachers and students financially instead. He also wants to see change statewide, stating, ”We need to put pressure on the state, and make sure they’re providing the resources kids deserve.”

The school board members will be affecting every student’s, parent’s, and teacher’s lives in the corporation, so make sure to vote and/or encourage your parents to vote in the election this November.

On September 24th, five school board candidates attended a debate at IUSB to introduce themselves as potential school board members and answer questions from the community. Candidates from Districts 1, 2, and 5 will be running for election in 2018. In District 1, Ruth Warren is running against John Pinter, In District 2, Stan Wruble is running against Oletha Jones, and in District 5, Stuart Greene is running unopposed.

Ruth Warren is a retired high school teacher and administrator in the South Bend Community School Corporation. She believes she will bring an important teacher perspective to the board, and stated, “The educational community deserves just as much representation on the board as the business community.” She wants the teachers to be able to speak freely and honestly to the board, and to focus on supporting the teachers with sufficient salaries and resources instead of using money for unnecessary additions because “we cannot continue to remain stagnant. We are losing teachers too quickly and are unable to hire new ones.” She hopes to bring positive change to the corporation as a teacher, administrator, and mother of three children who attended South Bend schools.

Warren’s opponent, John Pinter, is a professional consultant for nonprofit organizations. He wants to focus on “marketing” South Bend public schools to students, parents, and teachers in the city. Pinter believes making schools attractive with new programs will stop the corporation from losing voucher-using students to private schools. He also believes it is important to be innovative when trying to solve the bussing problems in the corporation, and referenced Uber as a base for future ideas.

Stan Wruble, current president of the school board, is running for reelection because ”I want to keep serving, public service is important to me.” He supports increase in teacher and employee pay, and wants to make sure the teachers are trained effectively in how to use the new resources they are given. Wruble also believes in restorative justice as an effective tool for disciplining students because ”not only do you have less behavioral problems, you have students striving to be better.” He emphasized an alternative focus of teaching Indiana curriculum, and believes ”we spend too much time worrying about test scores.”

Running against Stan Wruble is Oletha Jones, education chair for the St. Joseph County NAACP chapter. She is seeking better communication between the school board and the people,  and claims ”the community is not aware of what is happening in our schools.” She supports more speaking time for visitors at school board meetings, and overall more involvement with the state from every member of the corporation, because that is where the big changes are going to happen. In terms of bussing issues, she would like to look into how school choice is affecting transportation.

Finally, Stuart Greene, the unopposed candidate for district 5, is a retired English and African studies professor at the University of Notre Dame. He wants to stop silencing teachers and the general public, and wants to get the community involved in making important decisions, which could involve live broadcasting meetings to those who are unable to attend. Although many other candidates are proposing new technological innovations and adding more to the curriculum to solve the problems the corporation is facing, Greene believes we need to focus on supporting the teachers and students financially instead. He also wants to see change statewide, stating, ”We need to put pressure on the state, and make sure they’re providing the resources kids deserve.”

The school board members will be affecting every student’s, parent’s, and teacher’s lives in the corporation, so make sure to vote and/or encourage your parents to vote in the election this November.

On September 24th, five school board candidates attended a debate at IUSB to introduce themselves as potential school board members and answer questions from the community. Candidates from Districts 1, 2, and 5 will be running for election in 2018. In District 1, Ruth Warren is running against John Pinter, In District 2, Stan Wruble is running against Oletha Jones, and in District 5, Stuart Greene is running unopposed.

Ruth Warren is a retired high school teacher and administrator in the South Bend Community School Corporation. She believes she will bring an important teacher perspective to the board, and stated, “The educational community deserves just as much representation on the board as the business community.” She wants the teachers to be able to speak freely and honestly to the board, and to focus on supporting the teachers with sufficient salaries and resources instead of using money for unnecessary additions because “we cannot continue to remain stagnant. We are losing teachers too quickly and are unable to hire new ones.” She hopes to bring positive change to the corporation as a teacher, administrator, and mother of three children who attended South Bend schools.

Warren’s opponent, John Pinter, is a professional consultant for nonprofit organizations. He wants to focus on “marketing” South Bend public schools to students, parents, and teachers in the city. Pinter believes making schools attractive with new programs will stop the corporation from losing voucher-using students to private schools. He also believes it is important to be innovative when trying to solve the bussing problems in the corporation, and referenced Uber as a base for future ideas.

Stan Wruble, current president of the school board, is running for reelection because ”I want to keep serving, public service is important to me.” He supports increase in teacher and employee pay, and wants to make sure the teachers are trained effectively in how to use the new resources they are given. Wruble also believes in restorative justice as an effective tool for disciplining students because ”not only do you have less behavioral problems, you have students striving to be better.” He emphasized an alternative focus of teaching Indiana curriculum, and believes ”we spend too much time worrying about test scores.”

Running against Stan Wruble is Oletha Jones, education chair for the St. Joseph County NAACP chapter. She is seeking better communication between the school board and the people,  and claims ”the community is not aware of what is happening in our schools.” She supports more speaking time for visitors at school board meetings, and overall more involvement with the state from every member of the corporation, because that is where the big changes are going to happen. In terms of bussing issues, she would like to look into how school choice is affecting transportation.

Finally, Stuart Greene, the unopposed candidate for district 5, is a retired English and African studies professor at the University of Notre Dame. He wants to stop silencing teachers and the general public, and wants to get the community involved in making important decisions, which could involve live broadcasting meetings to those who are unable to attend. Although many other candidates are proposing new technological innovations and adding more to the curriculum to solve the problems the corporation is facing, Greene believes we need to focus on supporting the teachers and students financially instead. He also wants to see change statewide, stating, ”We need to put pressure on the state, and make sure they’re providing the resources kids deserve.”

The school board members will be affecting every student’s, parent’s, and teacher’s lives in the corporation, so make sure to vote and/or encourage your parents to vote in the election this November.v