Center Grove candidates see growth as challenge, opportunity

Johnson County’s largest school system keeps getting bigger.

Center Grove schools are serving an increasing number of students every year. As enrollment grows, so do the challenges that face the district.

Keeping students safe, ensuring teachers have the support to best teach their classes and offering diverse programs to help all types of learners find the career path best suited for them are all issues facing district leaders in the future.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

Five candidates are running for three at-large seats on the Center Grove school board. Incumbents Adam Norman, Jack Russell and Scott Alexander are each trying to retain their spot, while newcomers Joe Hubbard and Hunter Haskell hope to make an impact on Center Grove as members of the board.

Those elected will join the board in approving academic policies and course changes, confirming the school district’s budget and evaluating the superintendent.

Growth in Center Grove isn’t a new situation. More than 8,400 students are educated in the district, up from 7,735 just five years ago. The new Walnut Grove Elementary School will open next year, and the influx of new residents to the area may make new schools or expanded facilities necessary in coming years.

In recent years, the school board has been doing additional construction and facility improvements little by little, to make sure that every building is in roughly the same condition. That has helped to accommodate more students when needed.

“The southern part of the district is just exploding. You already have to plan what the next move is, because it takes four years to build a new elementary. So you always have to be thinking about it,” Russell said.

A goal of the school district has been planning to accommodate 10,000 students and beyond. As Center Grove creeps closer to that number, the board and administrators have put a foundation in place to have the schools and facilities necessary for that growth, Alexander said.

“There were some building blocks we had to put in place over the past eight years to get us there. I think we’ve got some of the foundation there, and now it’s time to expand upon that,” he said.

Though Hubbard acknowledges the work the existing school board has done to address growth, he’d like to see more foresight in planning for the future.

“We redistricted two years ago, and we’re getting ready to redistrict again. So I think it seems we can be a little more proactive than reactive to these things,” he said.

As the size of the student body grows, security and safety in the schools remains a top priority for potential board members. Each candidate pointed to ensuring the safety of students, staff and community members who come to the schools every day as well as for special events.

Plans formulated with the Center Grove police force are already in place, but those plans need to be revisited regularly to ensure no threat is overlooked, Norman said.

Entrances to the schools have been changed to require visitors to be buzzed in, and people have to be cleared by the front office before entering. School buildings have been designed or retrofitted so that sports leagues or other community events can still be open to people, while the rest of the building remains locked and secured.

“We went to some major expenses to secure the buildings,” Russell said.

The school board has grown the Center Grove police force, and added school resource officers in the high school building, Alexander said. Outside consultants have assessed the school district for the safety of its buildings, and as they receive that report, the board will take those findings into consideration on improvements moving forward, Alexander said.

He was part of a contingent of Center Grove school leaders who visited Littleton, Colorado, to investigate how schools in that community have made adjustments to school shootings in the past.

“They’ve done some amazing things, not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental health aspect of security as well,” Alexander said. “The more we can learn from other school districts, the better.”

Hubbard thinks that simple additions, such as barriers in front of entrances to the schools, could be one way of making the schools more safe. He would also like to see a mobile metal detector that could be moved to different schools, as well as to after-school events such as football games.

Increased training for counselors to identify problems in advance is also a must, Hubbard said.

The school board has already taken actions, such as behavioral intervention training, to help address mental health and behavioral issues in the schools, before they lead to a violent outburst. Teachers and staff members have received education about warning signs that a student may be struggling and could lash out.

More work needs to be done on that front, because mental health is a massive problem for young people, Haskell said.

“There are a lot of mental health discussions happening right now. There are a lot of ideas coming down the pipe, and we can’t wait for that,” he said. “Every time one of the best or brightest at Center Grove has a mental breakdown, school is a little less safe, a little less joyous, a little less successful and worthy of its heritage.”

But growth has not only presented challenges in regards to student safety. A larger student body has required larger and more buildings, increased staffing and other budgetary challenges.

In his time on the board, Norman has focused on being a good steward of taxpayer money in regards to the schools. One of the school board’s main responsibilities is overseeing expenditures throughout the district and approving a budget.

“I think for me, fiscal responsibility is always a big thing. Looking at things, does it make sense to spend this money. Sometimes, not always, there is money that needs to be spent, but is it being spent wisely? Is it being spent on the right things? Or do we even need to spend money on it?” he said.

The school board has worked diligently to keep the tax rate as low as possible, Russell said. The rate has remained at the same level for about the past 10 years.

“I hope we can continue that, but there’s never a promise of that,” Russell said.

The challenge for the school board is creating a budget without knowing what the state will do from year to year, Russell said. Despite planning ahead as best they can, the board never truly knows exactly how much money will be allotted to the schools.

Center Grove is close to the bottom of all Indiana school districts in terms of funding received from the state. Alexander has met with state legislators to discuss how to make school funding more equitable, and wants to continue that work that he’s started.

“I don’t know if they always completely buy into our argument, but at least they’re listening,” he said.

As stewards for taxpayer money, Hubbard would like to see the school board do a better job with the budget. He understands that funding coming from the state legislature puts the school district in a perilous spot, but he would like to work with teachers and other staff members to find ways to tighten spending and fund what’s truly important in the schools.

“When a teacher hands me a list of basic school supplies that they needed to do their job, that’s a problem,” he said.

Center Grove has established itself as an academic leader throughout the state. But each of the candidates see the potential for improvement, particularly when providing students with varying options for post-secondary education and careers.

Haskell was compelled to run for school board by his own experience as a Center Grove student. The 2013 graduate of Center Grove High School felt that while he received a good education in the school system, he wasn’t truly prepared once he graduated.

His emphasis is on breaking the insistence on attending college and focusing on an undergraduate degree. That push leads graduates to take on tremendous debt and experience increased stress while lacking the real-world skills and discipline to be successful as adults, he said. Increasing trade programs and opportunities with local businesses would remedy that.

Norman would like to see innovative programs for gifted students and those who need extra academic help continue. But he also is concerned that not enough attention is paid to career and technology education. As Center Grove’s representative on Central Nine Career Center’s governing board, he has seen how that program has helped students find a career path, even if it doesn’t necessarily include college.

“It is so critical that students know there are other options out there for them,” he said. “Sometimes, schools forget that there’s not just one path. Other paths are just as good, or even better. We need to do a better job promoting that and encouraging that.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Center Grove school board

Duties: The three candidates who are selected will work with the board’s other two members to approve academic policies and course changes, approve the school district’s budget and evaluate the superintendent.

Term: Four years.

Pay: $2,000 per year, plus $50 per meeting

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Norman File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Adam Norman

Age: 46

Family: Wife, Amy; children, Jackson, 18, Elijah, 15, Deacon, 11, Bodie, 9

Occupation: Attorney/assistant deputy director with the department of child services, child support bureau

Education: Bachelor of science in business, Indiana University, 1994; law degree from Indiana University School of Law, 1994

Previous office held: School board member since 2013

Community involvement: Indiana State Bar Association; Indiana Child Support Alliance Board; Mt. Gilead Church; Leadership Johnson County

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Alexander File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Scott Alexander

Age: 45

Family: Wife, Dana; children, Spencer, 18, Zachary, 14

Occupation: Vice president solutions, Theoris Services

Education: 1991 graduate of Center Grove High School; Central Nine Career Center, 1989 to 1991; 1995 graduate of Purdue University

Previous office held: Has been a member of Center Grove’s school board since 2010

Community involvement: Indiana School Board Association

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Russell File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Jack Russell

Age: 62

Family: Son, Austin

Occupation: School board trustee

Education: Center Grove High School, Purdue University

Previous office held: Has been a member of Center Grove’s school board since 2011

Community involvement: Aspire Johnson County; Leadership Johnson County; Greenwood Christian Church; Purdue All-American Alumni Marching Band drum major; Center Grove Alumni and Friends; Center Grove Education Foundation; Indiana School Board Association

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Haskell File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Hunter Haskell

Age: 23

Occupation: Dispatch, marketing and customer service

Education: 2013 graduate of Center Grove High School; attending IUPUI

Previous office held: None

Community involvement: None

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Hubbard File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Joe Hubbard

Age: 46

Family: Wife Brittney; children Alison, 13, and Kaylee, 9

Occupation: Owner, ATM Indy

Education: 1990 graduate of Mooresville High School

Previous office held: None

Community involvement: Served seven years in the U.S. Air Force, from 1991 to 1998

[sc:pullout-text-end]