Penn-Harris-Madison Forum hosts school board candidate event

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Penn-Harris-Madison (PHM) Forum, made up of representatives from the 15 schools' PTO groups, hosted a forum for the candidates up for the next school board, where candidates answered online and in-person public questions.

Out of the six candidates up for the three open school board seats, five of the six attended the forum.

Among the incumbent candidates were current board Vice President Ryan McCullough and Jim Garrett. The remaining candidates included Katie Inabnit Bell, Gary Fox and Arthur M. Klinger.

The only candidate to not attend was former Penn High School vice principal, Doug Chaffee.

Ryan McCullough explained his top priorities for P-H-M as someone who has served on the board before.

“I said it a hundred times tonight, it’s constantly staying at the best in class in safety. Making sure from the time that student is picked up at the school bus, until the time they’re delivered home, safety is our number one priority. Having a safe and nurturing environment where they can excel and it’s not even in the parents or students or the teachers mind because they know Penn is a safe place. I mean, we’re number six in the country right now as one of the safest school districts and continuing to grow in that. Why not be number one?” said McCullough.

Katie Inabnit Bell also shared how she believes she can bring a fresh perspective to PHM as a former teacher.

“I think we need to make sure we’re empowering our teachers that when they get their foot in the door at PHM, they want to stay here. And that is giving them the supports they need day in and day out. Giving them the professional development, but I think right now, like you said, there’s a nationwide shortage and it’s not just with teachers, it’s also with educational assistants and I think we need to tackle that too,” said Bell.

Voting for the three open Penn-Harris-Madison school board seats opens on Nov. 5.