Rossville, IN – As election time draws closer, the Rossville community is facing a ballot they haven’t seen as far back as anyone can remember. There are three school board seats to be voted for this fall, and each seat has two choices. While most communities are accustomed to having a choice, this is a new scenario to RCSD.
The incumbents to the board of education are Julia Mink (Owen Township), Jentry Pendleton (Ross 1 Township, write-in), and long time member, Joe Hufford (Clay Township). The new candidates are Brent Michael (Owen Township), Janet Blackburn (Ross 1 Township, write-in), and Dillon Rothrock (Clay Township). These new candidates each have their own reasons for running, and are all largely supported by a group called the Concerned Parents of Rossville Schools or CPRS.
The group formed earlier this year after a series of events caused parents to start asking questions and when they confronted the current board of education in Rossville, they felt they were largely ignored. Their concerns included the recent high turnover of staff, spending while many positions like nurses are still low paid, lack of procedures for the nurses’ office, alleged FERPA violations, and a lack of communication when concerns were brought to the board. KNS Radio has spoke to a few members who wish to remain anonymous for fear of retribution where they allege civil rights violations along with falsified documents.
CPRS has been collecting questions from the community that will be given to each of the six candidates, and answers will be posted on the public Facebook page. Anyone with questions to add can find the link of the page, Concerned Parents of Rossville Schools.
Kevin Keith has and will reach out to all candidates countywide on the upcoming November ballot. He will bring those to you as he conducts them. Wednesday morning of this week, you can hear his conversation with Janet Blackburn-Ross 1 Township write in and Thursday morning, tune in for Dillon Rothrock-Clay Township. These interviews will be aired at 8:30 each morning.