Four of seven Monroe County Community School Board Trustee seats are up for election this November.
The seats up for election are districts 2, 4, 5 and 6. These are held by April Hennessey, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, Erin Cooperman, and Ross Grimes, respectively.
The deadline to run is June 20 at noon. So far, Grimes is the only person registered as a candidate with Election Central.
School board members selected Grimes as a trustee in 2022, after District 6 trustee Jacinda Townsend Gides announced she was leaving for a job in Michigan. Elected trustees serve four-year terms.
According to Election Central, potential candidates must:
- Be registered to vote in the same district as the seat for which they’re running
- File a CAN-34 form (Petition of Nomination and Consent for School Board Office Elected in 2024). This must include signatures of ten registered voters in MCCSC boundaries, but not necessarily in the district where the candidate is running
- File a CAN 12 Form (Statement of Economic Interests for Local and School Board Offices)
Residents in the MCCSC districts can vote for all four seats.
Read more: MCCSC unveils baord redistricting options
In Indiana, school boards have three, five, seven, or nine members.
MCCSC trustees are paid $2,000 annually, the maximum allowed in Indiana. They receive $112 for each regular monthly meeting they attend, about $40 less than what Indiana law allows.
For additional meetings, trustees receive $62. The state’s allowed maximum payout is $75.
The Indiana School Boards Association says school board members are responsible for establishing rules and policies for the governance of the school corporation. And the board should “review, evaluate, and adopt board policies on an ongoing basis.”
