Meet the candidates for the Westfield Washington School Board

Madison Smalstig, Indianapolis Star
·6 min read

The Westfield Washington School Board is made up of five members, four representing particular districts and one serving in an at-large position. Three of the positions are on the ballot.

At Large

One position is available.

Alan R. Ford

This is Alan Ford’s third school board campaign. In 2014 and 2016, Ford unsuccessfully ran for the position. Ford has worked in multiple engineering positions, including as a senior systems engineer for the IT company SAIC, and served in the U.S. Navy, according to his LinkedIn page. Ford does not have a campaign website or social media. Ford did not respond to IndyStar's request for comment.

Curtis A. Wyatt

Curtis Wyatt is a real estate broker for FC Tucker. He has also worked as an umpire for the United States Tennis Association and as a real estate buyers specialist in Georgia. Wyatt is a conservative and said although he doesn’t see any glaring problems with the current council, he wanted to run to make a contribution to his community. Wyatt said he supports the renewal of the operating referendum, which will also be on the ballot in November. Wyatt has four children and six grandchildren, two of which attended Westfield schools but have since left the area. Wyatt does not have a campaign website or social media page.

Patrick Fassnacht

Patrick Fassnacht is a principal at Inspire Academy in Muncie, IN. He also worked as an administrator for Yorktown Community Schools for about four- and one-half years, the principal at Anderson Community Schools, the principal at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School and a regional director for Goodwill Education Initiatives Inc. From 1997 to 2002, he was an educator at Westfield-Washington Schools. His two kids attended Westfield-Washington Schools. Fassnacht is supported by the Westfield ROCK PAC, which is a non-partisan group that says it prioritizes transparency, supporting the staff by maximizing taxpayer dollars and building a united community.

Learn more about Fassnacht at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085141871432.

Amber Huff Willis

Amber Willis is currently serving as the secretary on the Westfield-Washington school board and has been a board member since January 2015. As a board member, she is involved with the alumni relations committee, the broad-based planning (high ability) committee and the well-being coalition of the Westfield stakeholder group. She is also a Westfield-Washington Education Foundation board member. Willis attended and graduated from WWS. Willis works for her family’s business CSI Signs. She is also a member of many local organizations, including the Downtown Westfield Association and the Westfield Chamber of Commerce. Amber’s priorities in her campaign are to keep classrooms safe, to provide teachers with professional development opportunities and great working conditions, and to make financially-sound decisions with taxpayer dollars. Willis has three children, two of whom attend WWS and one who is not school-age.

Learn more about Willis at https://amberforwestfield.com/.

District 2

One position is available.

William 'Bill' Anderson

Bill Anderson is currently the vice president of the Westfield Washington School Board and has been a member since 2019. As a board member, Anderson is a finance committee representative, safety committee representative, a member of the well-being coalition of the Westfield stakeholder group and is on the technology committee. Anderson is a provider services project subject matter expert at the IT services company Gainwell Technologies and currently serves as a board member for Kiwanis International. Anderson has one son in WWS.

Learn more about Anderson at https://www.facebook.com/william.anderson.75054689.

Patrick Phillips

Patrick Phillips is the director of on-site support for Indiana University. He has served in many different IT-related positions in the past, including as manager of IT for the IU School of Medicine and the director of health technology services at IU’s health science schools. Phillips supports the renewal of the operating referendum, which will be on the ballot in November. On his campaign’s Facebook page, Phillips has posted about trusting teachers and providing them a safe space to work, creating an environment where all students can thrive and how he believes the climate now is too political and that the focus needs to return to the students and teachers. Phillips has one kid in WWS. The candidate is supported by the Westfield ROCK PAC.

Learn more about Phillips at https://www.facebook.com/phillipsforthefield.

District 4

One position is available.

Rebecca Ogle

Rebecca Ogle is the current president of the school board and has been a member since 2019. As a board member, she is on the finance committee and technology committee. She is a CPA, certified fraud examiner, certified construction industry financial professional, and a chartered global management accountant. Ogle was selected as Indiana Business Journal’s 2021 CFO of the year for private companies under $100 million for her role at Safety Management Group, LLC. Ogle is also a member of the Westfield Athletic Booster Club also served as Westfield Youth Sports Inc.’s treasurer for six years. Ogle had two sons, one who graduated from WWS and one who is attending Westfield High School. Ogle does not have a campaign website or social media account.

Jill Woerner

Jill Woerner is the director of educational outreach for AFS-USA Inc., which puts together international student exchange programs and experiences. Woerner has also worked as a Spanish teacher at the University High School of Indiana, a global learning and world languages specialist for the Indiana Department of Education and a building administrator for Zionsville Community Schools, according to her LinkedIn page. She is bilingual in Spanish and English. Woerner also currently serves on the board of directors for the Indiana chapter of Partners of the Americas, which creates partnerships between people in the U.S. and Latin American countries. Some of the ideas that Woerner focuses on in her platform are creating greater awareness of the global community, utilizing the budget to prioritize academics and student safety, and connecting and communicating with parents and constituents. Woerner is supported by the Westfield ROCK PAC.

Learn more about Woerner at https://www.woernerforwestfield.com/.

Early in-person voting has already begun in Indiana and will end on Nov. 7 at noon. Contact your County Clerk’s office to find locations and hours for early voting and for in-person voting on Nov. 8.

Voters can also vote absentee but need to request a ballot no later than Oct. 27, or 12 days before the general election on Nov. 8.

To request an absentee ballot, you must meet the requirements, which can be found online at in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/ways-to-vote. You can request online or by mailing or hand-delivering the application to your county election board or the Indiana Election Division. You also can email the application to elections@iec.in.gov.

Once received, you should mail the ballot back to your local county election office. Ballots must be received by election officials by 6 p.m. on Election Day, or it will not be processed.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Elections 2022: Westfield Washington School Board candidates