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Three candidates interview for GCSC Board vacancy
With three applicants for the position and three interviews now conducted, the four current members of the Greencastle School Board have until Thursday afternoon to choose their newest colleague.
In a Thursday afternoon meeting, the board will choose a fifth member.
The three candidates for the office — Brian Cox, Lisa McCoy and Wayne Lewis — interviewed in another public session on Tuesday evening, with each candidate discussing his or her strengths and interest in the position.
Cox, the executive director of the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the need for marketing and relationship building for the school corporation.
“I don’t think we tell our story,” Cox told the board, saying that letting the public know of the good things going on in the school will help attract people to the larger community.
Cox also shared his desire to improve the lives and educational experiences of students, even in a position in which he would not work directly with them.
“I think I might be able to bring something to the school board to be a small piece of the puzzle in providing a quality education,” Cox said.
McCoy said her passion for education is twofold as a professional educator and parent of three. A member of the Putnam County Public Library Board and the Greencastle Civic League McCoy wants to continue to tap the spirit of volunteerism in Greencastle.
“We have a wonderful community full of people willing to contribute,” McCoy said.
While highlighting the strengths of the school corporation, McCoy also emphasized challenges such as dropping ISTEP scores and graduation rates, as well as trying to get more kids taking the ACT and SAT en route to higher education.
“We have potential to be a real gem in Indiana — a real model of education,” McCoy said. “We’re not there because we have some things to work on.”
Lewis, the longtime Greencastle chiropractor and veteran community volunteer, emphasized the need for common sense in a school board member and his ties to the school corporation that go back to 1955.
“I don’t have an ax to grind and I won’t have a point that I really want to hammer,” Lewis said.
Instead, Lewis said that he would like the chance to serve the community, noting the qualities he sees in himself of confidentiality, loyalty and commitment.
He said the confidentiality bears itself out in a 40-year career as a chiropractor, while loyalty should just be basic to anyone: “If you’re not loyal, why are you here?” he asked.
As for commitment, “When you say you’re going to do something — do it,” Lewis said. “Follow through on it.”
The new appointee will fill out the remainder of the term of Denise Sigworth, who resigned her post last month. The term expires June 30, 2020.
The position is actually an appointment of the Greencastle City Council, but the school board is called upon to fill positions in the middle of terms.
However, School Board President Mike White asked that city officials sit in on the process, an invitation taken up by Mayor Bill Dory and City Council members Stacy Langdon and Tyler Wade.
Now it is up to White and colleagues Dale Pierce, Lisa Lazar and Bill Tobin to choose who they will work with for the next two-plus years.
The 4:30 p.m. Thursday meeting will take place at Greencastle Community Schools Central Office, 1002 Mill Pond Lane.