Tipton hears from school board candidates

Spencer Durham, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·4 min read

Oct. 25—TIPTON — With two school board members not running again, and three seats up for grabs, the Tipton School Board will have at least a couple new faces when 2023 begins.

Candidates gunning for two spots on Tipton's board got their chance to be heard by the community Monday at a forum hosted by the Tipton County Chamber of Commerce.

Participating school board candidates were those running for two city of Tipton seats: incumbent Chris McNew, Eric Underwood, Gary Johnson and Jason Springer.

Board president Gary Plumer, the other Tipton city seat, is not running for reelection.

Robert Cochrane is running unopposed for the school board's Cicero Township seat. It is currently held by April Overdorf. She is not running for reelection.

Monday's forum featured contested races in Tipton County, including county council, sheriff and Cicero Township trustee.

McNew, Underwood and Johnson participated in the forum. Springer could not make it due to a family issue.

Candidates spoke on stage, individually responding to prepared questions from the chamber.

Below is a summary of each candidate's responses. Not every comment is included.

Gary Johnson

Johnson was the final candidate to speak Monday. He arrived late and spoke at the end, following the sheriff candidates.

Johnson is a former board member and served 16 years.

Mentioning the almost-complete greenhouse project, Johnson said the next step might be a robotics lab and having area manufacturers help develop it.

The new greenhouse stands to boost the school's agriculture and Future Farmers of America programs.

Asked about student enrollment, he said student numbers are up but having community organizations, nonprofits and government promote Tipton and its schools could help draw new people to the community.

"I think we are on a positive swing in that regard," Johnson said.

The board candidate supported increasing teacher wages, but only so much money is available — funding for teacher salaries is allocated by the state and dependent upon student enrollment. He said "creative outlets" such as offering more benefits could be one way to attract and keep teachers.

Chris McNew

The current board member and former Tipton educator said the school district is in a good place, referencing the ongoing district-wide improvement project.

Work is still in progress on the project, but has already seen a new turf football field. New tennis courts are in progress.

The project also includes renovating science labs in the middle and high schools, as well as upgrading the main entrances at each building.

McNew was supportive of the project, and also mentioned the almost-complete greenhouse.

"No matter how our football field looks, it all boils down to the quality of education," McNew said. "I think we need to continue our outstanding standards and add to where we can."

The current board member supported restoring the planetarium and adding more dual credit classes, particularly Advanced Placement Biology.

Asked about staff turnover, McNew referenced the raise the Tipton school board gave teachers last year. The minimum salary this year is $41,500.

However, most schools gave teachers raises. McNew said a competitive salary is important but so is a good working environment.

Eric Underwood

A former teacher and relatively new resident of Tipton, Underwood said the school district should survey teachers, students and community members in order to improve itself.

Underwood is an educator who left the profession. He taught at Southwood for five years.

"I think I left for the same reason a lot of people leave jobs, that is the culture and leadership," Underwood said. "I didn't leave because of pay."

He said it would be a good idea to survey teachers who leave and use their responses to figure out what Tipton schools can do better.

"We really need to track that and find out why people are leaving," Underwood said.

Same goes for parents who send their kids out of district, as well as those out-of-district parents who chose Tipton.

"I might sound like a broken record, but let's survey those families who are sending their kids to neighboring schools," Underwood said. "Why? What are we not providing?"

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.