South Bend teen is running for school board, but policy may keep him from office

SOUTH BEND — Gabrel Kempf, a recent Riley High School graduate, likely has the most firsthand experience of any school board candidate this fall about what it's like to learn during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 18-year-old candidate is running to represent South Bend's District 2, covering much of the south side, on a platform of "relational, relevant and reliable" advocacy, according to Kempf's Facebook page.

"Being a fresh product of the corporation and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and knowing the struggles and personally going through those struggles and how to navigate through them, I think I have a good background of how to get our kids back on track," said Kempf, a 2022 graduate.

The young candidate, however, may not be eligible to take office if elected.

A South Bend school board policy limits the age of trustees to 21 and older. But, because Kempf followed all of the state requirements set to file for a board seat, it appears his name will stay on the ballot.

"This could be a make or break for my campaign," Kempf said. "I do have plans moving forward to try to advocate and fight to change this policy within the next couple of weeks and attend some school board meetings soon."

18-year-old candidate to stay on ballot

Kempf collected signatures and summitted the documents required to run for school board with the St. Joseph County Clerk's Office on August 26 — the last day of this year's school board candidate filing window.

As a resident who collected verified signatures from 10 registered South Bend voters, county election officials said, Kempf meets Indiana's requirements to run for a school board seat.

State law says any eligible voter can run for school board, said Lisa Tanselle, general counsel for the Indiana School Boards Association. Voting age in Indiana is 18 years old. The law also says candidates can't be disqualified from running if they're 21 or older, essentially giving local boards the authority to limit who can take office if they're between 18 and 21 years old.

South Bend's school board has its own policy setting an age requirement of 21 or older. The policy appears to have been adopted in 2010 and revised in 2012, according to the board's bylaws.

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Board President John Anella, who was appointed in 2014 and is the longest serving trustee currently on the board, said he believes the district's policy was likely written to align with Indiana law, but that he can't remember the age requirement coming up during his time with South Bend schools.

"That's a policy that I can never honestly recall ever reviewing or really even being a conversation with anyone," Anella said.

St. Joseph County Clerk Rita Glenn said her office's authorityextends only to verifying that candidates meet the requirements need to file for a trustee seat and not to enforcing an individual school board's policy.

Kempf's name could have been removed if someone brought a challenge to the county election board but, Glenn said, that hasn't happened and the deadline for challenges passed last week. The deadline for a candidate to withdraw from local races has also passed.

"Unless somebody files a challenge, there's nothing we can do," Glenn said. "Once the addresses of the petition are verified by voter registration and they bring it back to us, we're stuck with it."

Kempf said he learned of the school board's policy on Monday and is "actively assessing" how to move forward with his campaign. The campaign keeps an active Facebook page and Kempf said he's planning events and canvassing across his district to share why he is running.

Kempf's eligibility to serve on board unclear

It's unclear what would happen if Kempf were elected.

State law doesn't appear to directly address a scenario where a school board's policy limits a teen's ability to join the board.

When asked about any similar examples, Glenn recalled Andrew Jones, who ran for office in 2003 while a student at Adams High School. Jones, however, was seeking a city council seat so school board policy, if similar in 2003, wouldn't have applied.

"I always feel like we end up being a case study," Anella said.

The district set state precedents twice over the last 15 months in separate decisions related to an Indiana law that allows charter schools to buy or lease unused buildings for $1.

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Glenn said she believes if Kempf is elected, the issue would be up to South Bend schools to resolve. Allen Carter, a spokesperson for the Indiana Secretary of State, said questions about what would happen should Kempf be elected would be better answered by the school district's attorney.

Allen did say the case could be resolved through the courts should someone, like an opponent in the 2nd district race, choose to sue over the results.

Kendra Key, general counsel for the South Bend school corporation, offered only to answer questions from a Tribune reporter on Wednesday if she could do so off the record. After The Tribune declined, Key provided the following prepared statement:

"As general counsel for the school corporation, I'm happy to provide contextual information of clarification of board policy off the record, but I prefer substantive questions be directed to other members of the school corporation, including the superintendent and John Anella."

After receiving the statement, The Tribune requested an interview with Superintendent Todd Cummings. The district did not make Cummings available by The Tribune's deadline.

Anella, in an interview with The Tribune, said the board plans to consult with legal counsel and any answer about what would happen next should Kempf be elected would be "purely speculating."

Four candidates vying for District 2 seat

Kempf is running against three other candidates for the 2nd district seat, which stretches south and east in the city and includes the areas closest to Riley High School.

Candidates include Oletha Jones, an incumbent who is currently serving her first term on the board, as well as challengers LaQuita Hughes, who works for a local early childhood center, and Mark Costello, who is retired.

It's the only South Bend school board race this fall with four candidates vying for one seat.

"We're excited that people are engage and involved," said Anella, who is not up for re-election this year. He said the board is likely to review its policy with its attorneys.

"If someone was an adult, which I consider 18, and they run and they win, you'd probably want the wish of the voters to be honored," Anella said.

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Kempf wrote in his candidate filing that he works for the Indiana Parenting Institute, a local nonprofit led by school board vice president Leslie Wesley. Kempf is also an intern for the South Bend district.

State law says that school employees cannot be members of their district's board. South Bend policy further states if an employee is elected to the school board, they must resign before taking office.

"If elected, if possible by the glory of God, I will step down and resign from that position," Kempf said. "My sole purpose for running for school board is to get the school board more diverse in ages, socio-economic, education and actual lived experiences to better represent the students of South Bend schools."

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend policy may keep teen candidate off of school board