For 39 years of service at WLCSC—including 16 years teaching and 15 as Jr-Sr High School Principal—I was privileged to work with outstanding teachers, administrators, and excellent school boards. I learned that boards matter and that the best boards are collections of individuals with diverse backgrounds and talents who chose to serve for the right reason: to serve the schools in the community they love.

Effective boards understand the role defined by Indiana statute to oversee district governance, not daily school operations. Effective board members work as a team to build trust and prepare for meetings collaboratively with the administrative team. And when they disagree, they work together to reach a consensus for the overall good.

Unfortunately, the current school board has not consistently demonstrated those qualities. Too often valuable meeting time has been taken up by individual members pursuing personal agendas rather than the collective responsibilities of the board. This discord and resultant frustration create confusion of purpose within the professional staff—the very group most dependent on the board to maintain a solid foundation for teachers to teach and (most importantly) for students to learn.

For generations the community served by the WLCSC has benefited from its hard-earned and much-envied reputation for achieving excellence and continuous improvement, which attracts families and quality educators in a time when people increasingly have choices about schools. Board members must protect this legacy for future generations—and so too must the community, including by making improvements at the board level.

The WL community now has an opportunity to improve their board by choosing three outstanding candidates who are in it for the right reasons.