A look at local: Community votes new members to South Bend school board

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Bend Community School Corporation has been a point of concerns for many parents, teachers and community members throughout the year.

At a September South Bend school board meeting, dozens of community members brought up issues within the corporation, including a lack of supplies, teacher retention and support, unclear communication, low test scores, and a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

“Change should never happen to a community, but with a community… Nobody came to our buildings and asked us how we felt or what we needed. Still, nobody has showed up,” said Jasmine Brown, a Jefferson Traditional Elementary School Teacher, at the meeting.

So, when the election results rolled in Tuesday evening, it showed the community also used their votes to make some changes to the board.

There were four seats up for grabs on the board. Incumbent Jeanette McCullough and newcomer Marcus Ellison taking the two at-large seats, former board member Bill Sniadecki winning the district 3 seat, and another newcomer, Carlos Leyva snagging the district 4 seat from incumbent Stephanie Ball.

In a Wednesday interview with ABC57, Leyva explained he hopes this is a new era for the South Bend Community School Corporation.

“Trust and transparency, so, they want that from not only the school board, but from the school corporation as a whole,” said Leyva.

He went on to say once the new elects are sworn in during January, he hopes to hit the ground running with some new practices, including better communication with families.

“Hopefully weekly newsletters and emails to the parents and families and guardians and make sure everything is being communicated and any question or concerns are being answered right away…make sure they can trust sending their kids to South Bend, so just getting that trust back in the community,” expressed Leyva.

One of his other big goals is addressing the budget and plans to be transparent with parents and community members about where that money is going. He also said he believes that will help encourage more teachers to join, and stay, at the corporation.

“We have a big budget of concern here, so making sure we’re financially responsible, make sure everything’s in line, and make sure you know, teachers are being compensated and there’s resources for children as well,” said Leyva.

After the new elects are sworn in, the board will then vote on a new president, vice president and secretary.