Priorities
Where I stand
Five priorities for the next four years on the HSE School Board. These will be refined as I listen to more families — they're a starting point, not a final word.
Priority one
Stewardship of the Budget
The next board will inherit a hard budget cycle: a new state property tax law that cut school funding, a November referendum to replace that funding, recent staffing reductions, and a steady drawdown of the district's cash reserves. These aren't abstract numbers — they decide class sizes, the teachers we keep, and the programs our kids count on.
I've run a small business in Indiana for 27 years. I know how to balance a budget, weigh trade-offs honestly, and explain a hard decision in plain language. That's the discipline I'll bring to every dollar HSE spends.
What this means in practice
- Full, public support for the November referendum — and honest, plain-language information about what it actually costs a household.
- A public-facing budget any resident can read and understand.
- Staffing and program decisions tied to a multi-year enrollment plan, not single-year cuts.
Read more about the referendum
A board should be able to explain every dollar in plain language. If it can't, the budget isn't ready.
Priority two
Supporting Teachers and Classrooms
HSE's reputation was built by its teachers — the ones who stay late, learn every kid's name, and turn a good school into the reason families move here. Keeping them is harder in a tight budget cycle. After recent staffing reductions, the people standing in front of our students need to know the board has their backs in the hard years, not just the easy ones.
I grew up at the dinner table hearing what public school teachers carry home every night — my father taught chemistry in Indiana for 36 years, my mother taught Home Economics. I won't pretend a budget can fix everything. But I know that when you lose a great teacher, you rarely get that exact one back. Retention has to be something the board works at on purpose, not an afterthought we notice once they're gone.
What this means in practice
- A teacher-retention review that takes anonymous exit-interview data seriously — so we act on why people actually leave, not on what we assume.
- Classroom-first staffing decisions through any future reduction in force. Cuts should start as far from the classroom as possible.
- Protected planning time and realistic support-staff ratios, so teaching here stays sustainable.
Priority three
Listening to Every Family
A board that decides first and explains itself later loses the room — and once families stop trusting the process, every decision after it gets harder. District 1 isn't one neighborhood. A family living near The Durbin Education Center doesn't always need the same thing as a family living in the other parts of District 1, and the only way to know the difference is to ask before the vote, not after.
Our family has spent nearly two decades inside this district. Charron served as PTO President at four HSE schools, and I've spent thousands of hours on HSE sidelines and in HSE gyms. The relationships are real, and so is what we've heard: parents want to be consulted, not just notified. Listening isn't a courtesy you extend when the calendar allows. It's part of the job.
What this means in practice
- Regular listening sessions held out in district neighborhoods — not only at the administration building.
- Plain-language summaries of every board meeting, posted within days, so following along doesn't require a law degree or a free weeknight.
- A published, predictable timeline for public comment before major decisions — so input arrives while it can still change the outcome.
Listening is part of the job, not a courtesy you extend when you have time.
Priority four
Preparing Every Student for What's Next
HSE has long been a district where students walk out ready — for a four-year university, a trade, the military, or a first job. My three kids walked into Indiana University prepared for whatever came next, and that wasn't luck. It was rigorous classes, counselors who paid attention, and teachers who expected something of them.
Keeping that true through a tight budget means protecting the things that actually prepare kids, not just the things that are easy to cut. And 'every student' has to mean every student — including the ones who need the most support. The plan for them should be real and staffed, not assumed.
What this means in practice
- Protect rigorous AP, IB, dual-credit, and CTE pathways through any budget pressure — the options that let students aim high stay on the table.
- A real, staffed plan for special education services through the SEA 1 transition, not a hope that nothing breaks.
- Post-graduation outcomes published every year, by school, so 'college and career ready' is something we can check, not just say.
Priority five
Stewardship of Our District's Future
The decisions that will define HSE in 2030 are being set now: declining enrollment, aging buildings, and how the district handles students who live outside its boundaries. Falling enrollment changes the math on everything — staffing, facilities, the budget — and it deserves a plan, not a string of reactive votes taken one year at a time.
Good stewardship is unglamorous. It's looking five years out, naming the trade-offs honestly, and making capital decisions that still make sense after the next election. I've spent 27 years making business decisions that have to hold up over decades. That's the mindset I'd bring to the long-term choices this district can't afford to get wrong.
What this means in practice
- A five-year enrollment and facilities outlook, refreshed every year, so the board plans ahead instead of reacting.
- An out-of-district enrollment policy that names the real trade-offs in public, instead of settling them quietly.
- Capital planning that doesn't whipsaw with every board cycle — buildings and budgets outlast all of us.
Good stewardship is unglamorous: look five years out, name the trade-offs honestly, and decide for the kids who aren't even in school yet.
Get involved
There are many ways to help.
Have an hour? Knock five doors with Greg. Have a kitchen? Host a coffee. Have a yard? Take a sign. Campaigns are built by neighbors, one favor at a time.