Lafayette School Board District A
Indiana public schools are governed by school boards whose members are elected in Tippecanoe County. These board members establish the direction, set goals and define the structure of their school district by adopting policies through the authority granted to them by the state legislature. Powers the boards retain are related to property, facilities, personnel, salaries, transportation, school lunch, educational materials and supplies, levy taxes, budgets, insurance and much more. They are accountable to the public.
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Gary P. Mueller
(Non)
Why are you running for school board?
What suggestions do you have for mitigating the impact of state and federal cuts on local school finances?
How should schools address the increase in students with mental health concerns?
What is or should the school district be doing to address student and staff safety issues within the schools of your corporation?
How do you believe your district should handle the challenge of technology like social media and AI?
Education
Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri
Experience in Leadership and Management
I have 36 years experience in engineering, product support, marketing and management at Caterpillar Inc in Indiana, Illinois, Texas and Germany. I am currently on The Arts Federation board of directors and the board VP for Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society
I want to give back to the community that provided a great education to my three daughters. They all attended LSC and graduated Jefferson High School and had a wonderful experience. I have retired from Caterpillar Inc after 36 years working in management and want to offer that experience to ensure LSC operates efficiently and continues to provide a great education for all children living in Lafayette. There will be challenges facing LSC in the coming years and the board’s focus must be on the key issues to support LSC’s mission and not get distracted with national, culture war type issues that have no place in a local school.
There may be some difficult decisions ahead if funding continues to decline. My focus will be to prioritize the key elements that make LSC great and to listen to students, parents, teachers and staff to find the best solutions. There may be some innovative ways to maintain or improve the education for our students that can be developed within the budget that haven’t been tried because no one was listening to those in the best position to make the improvements.
Sufficient resources need to be available for students with mental health concerns. Students may need temporary assistance if they are experiencing a crisis or more constant, steady support from counselors and teachers. We should ensure that community, local and state resources from outside LSC are connected as well.
Safety is of the utmost importance for students and staff. Everyone should expect to return home safely every day. Resources must be available to ensure LSC schools are safe. There must be continued training and development of School Resource Officers and school building enhancements and technology should be in place to make LSC schools as safe as possible. Safety must be everyone’s concern and training and awareness programs for the faculty, staff and students help keep safety in the forefront for everyone.
I believe the Indiana law which institutes a bell-to-bell restriction of phones and personal devices for students has worked so far. There are some well reasoned exceptions that LSC has instituted. This will not address every social media concern but will return student’s focus on personal interactions and learning.
The wider issues of social media and AI are complex issues. Our students need to learn how to reason, write and think through problems without dependence on AI. However, AI will be something today’s students will need to understand. I have seen the AI rules and limited tools in place at LSC and they seem to be effective but must evolve as conditions change.
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