I have a passion for high quality public education. I am an alumnus of Beech Grove High School. My Beech Grove education gave me the opportunity to attend Purdue University and earn a degree in engineering from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. I am an Aerospace Engineer.
The success of Beech Grove City Schools is personal for me. I have two children enrolled at Beech Grove City Schools. I want them and other Beech Grove kids to have the education that opens doors for their futures.
I believe in respecting educators as professionals. Teachers perform such essential roles and yet society pressures them to do more and more with less support. Teachers deserve the best we can provide in facilities, curricular materials, salary, benefits, and district support to do their craft.
I have confidence our district's administration, which is made of career educators, to attract the best talent and work with the teachers association to provide for the best academic outcomes.
Student safety is a complex and important issue. I support our district's efforts to improve safety of our schools partnering with Beech Grove Police Department for the School Resource Officer program in each of our buildings and through creating a district school safety coordinator role. We actively work to make our schools safer.
The well being of our students is paramount and is at the heart of every decision I make on the board. Their experience in our schools is what this is all about.
Beech Grove faces unique challenges from legislative changes to school funding formulas, a fixed tax basis, and running a small district that create economic disadvantages in comparison to other school districts.
We have managed this by doing more with less, making tough decisions to consolidate and eliminate administrative roles, finding new revenue sources, and strict financial responsibility.
I support our district's need for an operating referendum to maintain normal essential services.
I understand the need for families to have access to education that meets their needs. I want our school system to be that answer for any student that we can support.
There are challenges to school funding from sharing tax revenue between traditional public schools and charter schools, and more widely with the new trend of school choice, which can divert funding away from public schools to private institutions. I want every student to have access to a high quality public education at Beech Grove
No
This will be my fifth term on the school board. I grew up in Beech Grove, graduated from here and raised my two children here. I wanted to be part of something bigger to ensure our school system continued to grow and provide the best educational experience for our kids. Previous experience dealing with budgets, operations, HR issues, negotiations, etc has helped me think outside the box when trying to help come up with new ideas and solutions when needed. I'm proud of our accomplishments.
Beech Grove Administration does all of the recruitment for our teachers and classified staff. We have a great relationship with Marian University and other universities as well. We strongly encourage our alumni who are seeking a degree in education to consider returning to Beech Grove to become an active, positive example for other students in our community by returning here to teach. We have been very successful with this program.
We have met with Homeland security to inspect our buildings to ensure we have the utmost safety for our students and staff, Beech Grove also has SRO's - Safety Resource Officers - for each of our buildings who are active Beech Grove police officers and on site every day. Each officer knows their students and create a positive and successful relationship with all of our students and our administrative staff at each building.
Our superintendent is very budget conscious and is painstakingly transparent with us on all budget issues and expenditures. We have had times where we have had to make some very hard financial decisions to ensure that we are able to continue running our district as financially responsible as possible. This upcoming election, we will be seeking a continuation of our current operations referendum to be able to continue to maintain our buildings; while also providing security, buses, & personnel.
I am not a fan of charter schools. They operate individually with different academic criteria, results and operating models. This does not create a consistency in the academic quality under the charter school umbrella.
No
Beech Grove is home, and as a parent with young children coming through our schools, I wanted to bring an additional parent perspective to the board. Since my appointment, I’ve gained firsthand experience with the responsibilities of this role. My professional background in public policy, government affairs, budgeting, and strategic leadership, along with my involvement as a parent and PTO leader, prepares me to serve our students, families, educators, and community.
Recruiting and retaining great teachers means making Beech Grove a place where educators feel valued, supported, and excited to stay. We must remain competitive with compensation and benefits while also investing in professional development, strong leadership, manageable workloads, and a positive school culture. Just as importantly, we need to listen to our teachers and ensure they have the resources and support they need to focus on what they do best—serving our students.
Student safety must include both physical security and student well-being. We should continually evaluate safety procedures, building security, staff training, and communication while maintaining strong partnerships with families and local public safety. We must also ensure students feel safe, supported, and connected at school, with access to trusted adults and appropriate mental health and behavioral resources when needed.
Fiscal responsibility and long-term financial stability are top priorities of mine. We must be thoughtful with every taxpayer dollar while continuing to invest in student achievement. I would prioritize funding that directly supports students and educators, protect classroom resources whenever possible, and continually evaluate spending for efficiencies. Educational improvement and fiscal responsibility should work together to ensure Beech Grove remains strong for years to come.
I believe families should have access to educational opportunities that best meet the individual needs of their children. Charter and traditional public schools can both play a role in serving students, but all publicly funded schools should be held to strong standards for academic performance, transparency, and accountability. As a Beech Grove board member, my responsibility is to ensure our schools provide an excellent education and remain a strong choice for families in our community.
No. Neither I nor any member of my immediate family has a professional, financial, organizational, or other significant connection to a charter school or charter school organization.
