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Learn about Warsaw School Board candidates before going to the voting booth in November.
The Warsaw Community Education Association and the American Association of University Women are co-sponsoring a "Meet the Candidates" forum Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Lakeview Middle School.
"Basically," said WCEA President Terry Sims, "it's an opportunity for the public to ask questions of their candidate in their own district."
The event will begin in the LMS auditorium. Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth will provide opening remarks. Patrons then will be ushered into different rooms for each district race so that forums for each district run simultaneously.
In district 1, Barbara Smolen is up for election against incumbent and School Board President Ron Yeiter.
District 5 incumbent Tammy Dalton faces challenger Thomas Heuer.
Brad Hagg faces Delores Hearn for the district 2 seat. Cathy Folk is the current district 2 incumbent but can't run for re-election as she has met her term limit.
Eugene England, district 7 incumbent, is unopposed, but will have a room to talk to his constituents.
Ground rules have been set for the forums. Each candidate is permitted a five-minute opening statement. The moderator will ask each candidate to respond to four questions submitted by the Times-Union, Haworth, AAUW and WCEA. Each response may be up to three minutes.
Following these responses, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. Responses will be limited to three minutes. Timers will signal candidates when time has expired. Timers and moderators are all volunteers.
Each candidate may make a closing statement limited to two minutes. The speaking order of the candidates is determined by draw before the forum.
The last "Meet the Candidates" forum for Warsaw School Board candidates was held in 1994, according to Sims. The focus of the forum is to give people information on the candidates, and is a way to educate the public so they can make good decisions at the polls, said Sims. Neither sponsor of the forum is endorsing any candidate, said Sims, they are just giving voters choices.
At the 1994 forum, Sims said, "We had a pretty good turn out." During the past five years, there's been a lot of interest in the school corporation and board so Sims said this year's forum should be a good opportunity for people to hear the candidates.
The WCEA and AAUW are sponsoring the forum as part of their civic duty, to generate interest in local education, Sims said, and to let the public see who will represent them.
All candidates tentatively have agreed to be at the forum. If any candidate can not make the forum, all have agreed to provide prepared statements.
