Wawasee School Board Candidates Keep Campaigns Positive
October 24, 2018 at 5:46 p.m.
Wawasee School Board Candidates Keep Campaigns Positive
By Mark [email protected]
Incumbent Mary Lou Dixon, William “Bill” Cripe and Steven Baut participated in a hour-long candidate forum at Wawasee Middle School Tuesday night.
Two other incumbents, board president Rebecca Linnemeier and Rob Fisher, are running for re-election unopposed.
In her opening statement, Dixon outlined her 40-plus years with the corporation, dating back to the 1970s when it was known as the Lakeland School Corp. “People got our district confused with the other one (located in LaGrange),” she said.
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She taught and led Academic Super Bowl teams until she retired and made her first run for the school board.
Cripe said he’s lived in the district since he was 8 years old, and is a graduate of Syracuse Elementary and Wawasee middle and high schools, as well as Purdue University. He’s had a lengthy career in business in Middlebury and wants to use that background to serve the schools.
“Schools contribute mightily to the definition of a community, and I want to contribute to that,” he said.
Baut said he has three kids: One graduated from Wawasee in the spring, one is a middle school student and his youngest is a kindergartener at Milford Elementary.
“I have been, am still, and will continue to be invested in Wawasee schools,” he said. Baut said that while he hears some complaints about the schools, the board’s job is to support the people within the corporation at all levels.
The trio then answered seven questions, and their responses were not dramatically different. All agreed things are going well overall with the corporation, and it’s a matter of seeing to it that upward trend continues in terms of facilities and programs.
All agreed that things are different for today’s students than when candidates were pupils. To that end, the trio agreed the corporation needs to continue to emphasize the mental health needs of the students.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the candidates came when they were asked what the greatest capital needs are within the corporation.
Cripe said he felt the need to maintain all the buildings in top shape and “to create a safe for teachers to teach and students to learn.”
Baut outlined how pleased he was with security procedures at Milford School, and he’d like each building to have a school resource officer.
Dixon said while she feels compensation packages for the teachers are good and “fantastic” for the administration, she would like to see “all employees be paid in a fair and equitable manner. There’s a poorer pay scale for secretaries and janitors, and if we expect to retain those people we need to make sure their pay is fair for these times.”
She also talked about the need to make repairs to Wawasee Middle School to prevent water leaks during strong rain storms.
During closing statements, Baut cited an example of attending a soccer game and was asked how many players on the team he had coached. It turned out at one point in time or another he had coached them all.
“I want to build people up, and I’ve impacted parents and students in a positive way,” he said. “We need to look to the future with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Everybody wants a good community, and good communities start with good schools.”
Cripe reflected on his high school’s class motto: “Anything less than out best is failure. I’ve learned a lot, and there’s lots to learn. If elected, I will do my best to serve the community and the schools.”
Dixon said, “In every capacity that I’ve served, I’ve always had the best interest of the student at heart, and I will continue to do so.” She added the corporation is doing a better job of preparing students to face life’s challenges, “and we will continue to be prepared to face those challenges.”
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Incumbent Mary Lou Dixon, William “Bill” Cripe and Steven Baut participated in a hour-long candidate forum at Wawasee Middle School Tuesday night.
Two other incumbents, board president Rebecca Linnemeier and Rob Fisher, are running for re-election unopposed.
In her opening statement, Dixon outlined her 40-plus years with the corporation, dating back to the 1970s when it was known as the Lakeland School Corp. “People got our district confused with the other one (located in LaGrange),” she said.
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She taught and led Academic Super Bowl teams until she retired and made her first run for the school board.
Cripe said he’s lived in the district since he was 8 years old, and is a graduate of Syracuse Elementary and Wawasee middle and high schools, as well as Purdue University. He’s had a lengthy career in business in Middlebury and wants to use that background to serve the schools.
“Schools contribute mightily to the definition of a community, and I want to contribute to that,” he said.
Baut said he has three kids: One graduated from Wawasee in the spring, one is a middle school student and his youngest is a kindergartener at Milford Elementary.
“I have been, am still, and will continue to be invested in Wawasee schools,” he said. Baut said that while he hears some complaints about the schools, the board’s job is to support the people within the corporation at all levels.
The trio then answered seven questions, and their responses were not dramatically different. All agreed things are going well overall with the corporation, and it’s a matter of seeing to it that upward trend continues in terms of facilities and programs.
All agreed that things are different for today’s students than when candidates were pupils. To that end, the trio agreed the corporation needs to continue to emphasize the mental health needs of the students.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the candidates came when they were asked what the greatest capital needs are within the corporation.
Cripe said he felt the need to maintain all the buildings in top shape and “to create a safe for teachers to teach and students to learn.”
Baut outlined how pleased he was with security procedures at Milford School, and he’d like each building to have a school resource officer.
Dixon said while she feels compensation packages for the teachers are good and “fantastic” for the administration, she would like to see “all employees be paid in a fair and equitable manner. There’s a poorer pay scale for secretaries and janitors, and if we expect to retain those people we need to make sure their pay is fair for these times.”
She also talked about the need to make repairs to Wawasee Middle School to prevent water leaks during strong rain storms.
During closing statements, Baut cited an example of attending a soccer game and was asked how many players on the team he had coached. It turned out at one point in time or another he had coached them all.
“I want to build people up, and I’ve impacted parents and students in a positive way,” he said. “We need to look to the future with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Everybody wants a good community, and good communities start with good schools.”
Cripe reflected on his high school’s class motto: “Anything less than out best is failure. I’ve learned a lot, and there’s lots to learn. If elected, I will do my best to serve the community and the schools.”
Dixon said, “In every capacity that I’ve served, I’ve always had the best interest of the student at heart, and I will continue to do so.” She added the corporation is doing a better job of preparing students to face life’s challenges, “and we will continue to be prepared to face those challenges.”
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