South Putnam School Board Candidate Bios

This is the second of three sets of biographies on the candidates for school boards in the Nov. 8 election. While the current issue features candidates for South Putnam School Board, the candidates for Cloverdale School Board were featured on Oct. 21, and North Putnam will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Banner Graphic.

All candidates were invited to take part in submitting their biographies, and all South Putnam candidates did so — in Jefferson Township, incumbent Wesley Hacker and challenger Lee Cline, and in Warren Township, incumbent Gregg Hinchman and challenger Wade Fanning.

The biographies have been edited only minimally by Banner Graphic staff.

Lee Cline, Jefferson Township

Hello, I am Lee Cline. I’d like to share with you a bit about who I am, what our community means to me, and the impact I will have as your next Jefferson Township school board member for the South Putnam School District.

Your community is my community. I am a 2000 graduate of South Putnam High School, a 2004 graduate of Indiana State University and a lifelong resident of the South Putnam school district. The students, teachers, parents and taxpayers are who make up this wonderful community that we live in. My wife is one of those teachers, my children are three of those students, my friends are those parents and we are all Eagles through and through.

Our community is important to me. Over the last five years I have served as both president and co-founder of South Putnam Youth League, a 501(c)(3) youth sports non-profit. I have demonstrated the collaborative style of leadership required of an organization that depends on building relationships and partnerships with other leaders and organizations. I’ve worked hard to coach, mentor, and lead in all parts of my life and will continue to do so for our community.

I will make an impact. I am focused on fostering the best school environments possible to develop students in all areas of their life. Some of my top goals are to improve teacher retention throughout the corporation, ensure courses are relevant to the educational and vocational goals of students, and keep the corporation efficient and cost-effective for the tax payers. With your help and support we can impact these areas and more.

Our community has given so much to me and my family. I would like to give back and serve. Please give me that opportunity when you vote Lee Cline as the next Jefferson Township school board member.

Thank you for your time and Go Eagles!

Wesley Hacker, Jefferson Township

I am asking for your continued support as the Jefferson Township board representative for South Putnam Community School Corporation.

Since taking the oath of office in July 2011 my goal, and one of my duties as a board member, has been to ensure that the corporation is fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money while providing our students with a quality education in safe and well-maintained buildings.

The corporation’s tax rate that you see on your property taxes has been relatively flat for the entire 11-plus years I have been on the board, this is only accomplished through budgeting and forecasting the corporation’s future expenses.

While a few would like to have “shiny penny”/“bragging rights” type of projects completed first, we must stay focused on what impacts our students and staff the most. We must maintain our buildings so that our students, faculty, and staff are in safe, comfortable, structurally sound buildings. Budgets and cost forecasting are for a reason, it is imperative to live within our means. I will continue to ensure that the school corporation operates within budget so the taxpayer will not be presented with a referendum asking for additional money.

Working with my fellow board members we have achieved many goals. The most important goal the board wanted to achieve came to fruition with the guidance of our new superintendent and the data-driven financials presented to the board. After review, we could not only increase our teachers’ salary and benefit package, we had room in the budget to increase salaries and pay scales throughout the corporation for principals, secretaries, department heads, bus drivers, instructional sssistants, janitors and food service personnel.

The increases bring our corporation’s pay scale into alignment within our geographical area along with allowing the corporation to retain the quality personnel that make our school one of the best.

Due to space limitations, I am unable to list the numerous improvements and upgrades that have been achieved since 2011. If you are interested in learning firsthand and offer input, plan on attending one or all of the many public work sessions the board will be scheduling in December to prioritize the future projects for the corporation.

Bio: I am a husband, father, and grandfather. My wife Nicole and I have two sons, both South Putnam graduates, Lane, 2014 and Parker, 2021.

Our family has been active participants and volunteers with Putnam County 4-H, Youth / HS Football, and Central Elementary PTO.

1985: South Putnam graduate

1987: Vincennes University graduate

1997-present: President RSW Transportation Inc. (Independent agent for Landstar Global Logistics)

1992-present: Hacker Family Farms & Cattle Co. – Row crops/custom hay baling/freezer beef sales

Community Involvement

2011-present: South Putnam Community School Corporation Board Member (Offices held: President, vice president and currently secretary)

2010-2018: 4-H Council (Offices held: President, vice president)

2011-2020: South Putnam Quarterback Club (Offices held: President, vice president)

2013-2018: Livestock judging coach, South Putnam FFA/4-H

Wade Fanning, Warren Township

I am excited for the opportunity to serve on the board for the South Putnam Community School Corporation.

I have been an educator for 25 years, and I am excited to work on behalf of the community, parents, teachers, administrators, and most importantly, the students.

I am a family-oriented man with a wife and three children. My oldest two children both graduated from South Putnam High School. My oldest daughter is now a first-year student at Indiana University’s Optometry School, and my son is now a senior at DePauw University. I credit much of their success to the level of preparedness that they had upon graduating from South Putnam High School. My youngest daughter is now a freshman, and I am excited to see what great things she will accomplish, just as her older siblings have done.

I have witnessed first-hand what a quality job the corporation does at preparing students for success, and I want to do all that I can to ensure that this trend continues.

I have been a teacher for 24 years. These are trying times for teachers and administrators, as evident by the teacher shortage. Unfortunately, this has a direct effect on students.

Great things are a direct result of collaboration and communication. I will always be willing to not only hear, but address the concerns of the community members that are invested in the South Putnam Community School Corporation.

Gregg Hinchman, Warren Township

My name is Gregg Hinchman. I am seeking re-election to the South Putnam School Board. It has been my pleasure to serve the community over the past two years as a board member. I have been privileged to assist in refreshing South Putnam schools with a new superintendent, substantial increases in teacher, staff and administration pay as well as approving a bond issue to provide much needed new facilities.

In the coming year I look forward to continuing my service as the board seeks to revitalize and renew the South Putnam infrastructure with a new bond issue and increase educational opportunities for our children.

I have been a self-employed information technology consultant for the past 22 years. This career path led me across the country and around the world prior to settling down and having a family here in Putnam County. My wife and I both chose Putnam County to raise our two children who attend South Putnam. We fell in love with the community, lifestyle and the picturesque countryside.

I committed to serving the community as a steward for South Putnam when I took my oath of office. In the years since, I have provided critical thinking, focus and a fresh stabilizing perspective for the community. I seek out policy, process and procedures as part of the logical course of action in making decisions.

My three objectives as a board member are:

1. Education: Educating children is the point of schools. As a board member, I consider this the primary objective and seek to raise up all children’s education levels. I love that South Putnam leads in AP (Advanced Placement), dual credit (college credit for courses taken in high school) and Lilly Endowment in our county. The “Start as a Sophomore” program is especially unique jewel for South Putnam. These offerings are a strong testament to our dedicated teachers and students as well as all those supporting them.

2. Infrastructure: Infrastructure is the buildings, the fields and other supporting structures. Without a safe, solid infrastructure, teaching children is difficult at best. South Putnam has been well taken care of in the past, but is in need of modernizing as demands are placed on the buildings and their facilities. Over the next years as a board member I hope to address these with public input and bond issuance.

3. Resources: Resources are the people. Teachers, staff, bus drivers, custodians, administration and parents to name a few. It also includes all the other items that go into educating children. Resources are critical to the goal of educating children. Indiana overall has a shortage of teachers, but at South Putnam we do not. That speaks volumes for the administration, the community and the culture. Through various means as a board member I will strengthen the resources.

Finally, I invite parents and the community to join us at open meetings to better the education, infrastructure and resources for our children and politely ask for your vote.