Occupation/Current Position
Retired consultant with Crowe LLP
Education
BS from Purdue University
Campaign Phone
5745321960
I want to help maintain and improve the excellence throughout the PHM system by providing leadership and professionalism at the board level with an emphasis on safety, transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. I served on the PHM board from 2000 to 2020 and want PHM to continue to be a leader in innovation and technology and maintain our reputation as one of the top public-school systems in the state of Indiana. My top priorities would be to increase funding for safety, both from an external threat perspective and also for internal intervention resources to provide help within classrooms, busses, and other areas to intercede and assist where needed. Secondly, to target resources to provide interventions at the earliest possible levels to increase our students’ opportunities for success and growth.
Transparency needs to be both external and internal and must follow state guidelines. From an external perspective, the board needs to have the community believe that they are being heard when they raise issues. Although there may not be complete agreement with the solutions, there needs to be trust developed insuring that everyone's position is heard. From an internal perspective, it is just as critical that the PHM team believes they understand the strategy as well. My understanding is that there is a good working relationship with the unions, but believe more can be done to solicit input from the whole team. Upstream surveys were once used where input was solicited and should be considered again. I have a 20-year history of listening to our external and internal PHM family members building trust as PHM evolves our strategy and vision.
This is a notable example of how PHM is a leader in innovation and technology. PHM, using technology, innovation, and prior data, was able to target and deploy resources to certain schools and groups to help improve their IREAD results. The investments made showed amazing growth results in these targeted areas. I would fully support the continuation of the development of targeted data driven decisions that would have a significant increase in student improvements. The most efficient way to increase learning is through early intervention. I would support additional early intervention resources at the Pre-K and kindergarten levels. In addition, I think resources and attention need to be redirected and deployed on truancy and absenteeism. Students who are not at school will not grow at the same rate. These are key to student growth.
LGBTQIA+ students are some of our most vulnerable students and how schools manage these issues must be done in a respectful manner. The number one priority of a school board should be that all students are protected and safe from both a physical and emotional standpoint. PHM also must abide by the Indiana state laws that are applicable as well. The board needs to set the plan with safety and state law compliance as the foundation and the administration should establish policies that comply with the strategy. The plan needs to be continually updated and communicated to the community for consideration and comment. The board then must hold the administration accountable. Our families must trust that all our students are in a safe environment.
The United States public education system is a great differentiator from other countries. Everyone has a right to attend a public school and improve their opportunities in life. Because of these opportunities, public education serves a broad range of diverse communities. The curriculum and resource materials for a school district should reflect this and be available for parents to review, comment and be adjusted accordingly. All materials and teaching should be age appropriate. Parents have the right to guide their children's reading, but parents should not be making decisions for other parents' children. The board has the responsibility to hold the administration accountable to these standards. Material and curriculum that a parent believes is not appropriate should be referred to the administration for review and board comment.
PHM, like all schools, has discipline issues. The data indicates that PHM has fewer issues than other public schools. This results from the investments made in infrastructure and security resources allocated. As I mentioned above, I would like to invest in additional intervention resources across all aspects of the school system. These resources can be focused on physical and emotional safety for our students and our PHM team members. This does come down to a funding issue, but if safety is a top priority, it should be part of the funding strategy. An emotionally and physically safe environment will increase the student experience and should benefit team members engagement, recruitment, and retention. The processes and procedures established can become a model that results in PHM becoming an employer of first choice.
PHM provides many partnership opportunities to earn college credits. PHM is extraordinarily strong in this area. This can be improved as more partnership opportunities are developed. The PHM team driving this is strong. There are many partnerships continuing to be developed to provide career/technical education opportunities. I have always viewed the building trades program as top notch. Although in recent years there had been a major focus on college prep, PHM stays connected to future trends and more emphasis is now being put on developing the career/ technical side partnerships. I do not think there is anything missing, I just think it is an allocation of resources and funds to meet what is most opportunistic for our students.
PHM is a top school system in the state of Indiana. I believe my 20 years on the board has played a small role in that happening. PHM is poised to take the next step, but it will not come without proper board leadership and financial stewardship. I have a 42-year background as a CPA and have served on multiple professional, charitable, and community-based boards, including from 2000 to 2020 on the PHM board. I understand the need to have a professional board focused on improving the experiences of our community, families, and PHM team members as we continue to grow the PHM excellence throughout our district and state. I do not believe there is another candidate that has my experiences and experience matters. For more information please see my Facebook page Gary Fox for PHM. Thank you.
Occupation/Current Position
Retired PHM Teacher/Administrator/Director (Planetarium)/Football Coach (PHS) 1970-2015
Education
BS Earth Sciences I.U. Bloomington, MA General Sciences Western Michigan U. 1975
Campaign Phone
574-286-7225
I spent my entire 45-year career with P-H-M, starting in 1970, as an Earth Sciences Teacher at SMS. In 1978, I proposed a Planetarium serving the entire K-12 school district. Since 1980, I have been the Administrator/Director/Teacher of the Planetarium until my retirement in 2015. We served nearly 850,000 people allowing me to interact with all of P-H-M’s: K-12 Students, Teachers, Administrators, Superintendents, Secretaries, Custodians, Department Heads, and the P-H-M Community. In addition, I was a Penn varsity football assistant coach for 30 years. Serving on the school board would allow me to pay back P-H-M for all the "tools" they provided, allowing me to take our student body and all other patrons on a unique journey in the quest for knowledge. GOALS: Add Aviation to PHS Curriculum; A full-day visit to each P-H-M School.
I believe the school board has been transparent with their decisions. This type of discourse (give and take) is important in achieving all P-H-M goals. Anything less will hinder progress.
It’s imperative to be able to read. Without it, we’re helpless. Those who have been targeted (11%) need to be helped without being embarrassed, or having their self-esteem lowered. The help (Remediation) must come from the: Parents (Guardians), Teachers, Doctors, Optometrists, and the supervision of those giving the test. Many things, like vision problems, can be solved at an earlier age, so we can get ahead of the reading problem before Third Grade. Regardless, the goal should always be to reach 100% efficiency. The same approach should be used for mathematics.
We must: Abide by Federal and State Laws; Consult our Superintendent and P-H-M Lawyer/s; Gather input from Teachers, Custodians, Secretaries, etc; Survey our Patrons (Taxpayers); And, study what other school districts are doing. From that information, we should derive solutions and present them at an open school board session.
We must establish the “real truth” by seeking out from a variety of accredited sources the accounts of events from the past. If it involves changing what has been presented in the past…so be it! Education is seeking and understanding the proven truth without being afraid of it. In addition, we must: Abide by Federal and State Laws; Consult our Superintendent and P-H-M Lawyers; Gather input from Teachers, Custodians, Secretaries, etc; Survey our Patrons (Taxpayers); And, study what other school districts are doing. From that information we should derive our solutions, and present them at an open school board session.
A survey from the recent past indicates that Discipline and Respect appear to be a non-issue among the teaching staff; and yet, during the past 15 years, I have overheard from a few Teachers that it is a big problem. Therefore, I’d like to present a one-page anonymous survey limited to possibly five questions with multiple choice answers and room for an/a follow-up explanation/s. If we have a very low number of negative responses, then we can put this subject to rest. If we have an exceptionally high number of negative responses we can see that possibly Respect and Discipline are a problem and need to be address.
It appears to me sufficient opportunities for both college prep and career/technical education are good. I’m always open to new suggestions and ideas.
Forty-five years of service to P-H-M and the entire community! During the past 35 years as the Administrator/Director of the recently renamed Arthur M. Klinger Planetarium and my previous 10 years as an Earth Sciences Teacher gave me the opportunity to work with: Every Teacher and Student from grades K through 12, along with Every: Administrator, Department Head, Custodians and Secretaries at Bittersweet School, and ESC; Principals at all P-H-M schools, along with Patrons from our community; plus, many K-8th grade Teachers and Students from parochial and public school districts within a 35-mile radius. Additionally, being an assistant football coach at PHS gives me tremendous experience with almost everything educational. I believe all of this makes me a viable candidate. I can't do it alone, I need your help!
