MARK BUCKLEY
My name is Mark Buckley and I ask for your support as I seek re-election to the Avon School Board. My wife of 17 years, Susan, and I have lived in Avon for 15 years and our 3 children…Corbin, Grace & Brock attend Avon Schools. I own 2 local businesses and have used that knowledge as we plan & prepare for the many challenges and opportunities our school system faces. It is a privilege to serve on the Board and I appreciate the trust our community has in our ability to make wise decisions that continue to place AVON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS at the highest level of respect and achievement throughout the STATE. We have successfully managed incredible growth and change, have planned for the future wisely and efficiently, provided our students with the best and brightest teachers and staff, and controlled the burden on taxpayers in tumultuous and uncertain economic times. Ultimately, this is about KIDS FIRST!

I will insure students continue to receive every opportunity to achieve at the highest level and be all that they can be.

This is Mark Buckley's bio submitted to the election board for Avon consumption. See anything Mr. Buckley seems to be missing in his bio as a board incumbent?

KIM WOODWARD
My name is Kim Woodward and I am running for a second term on the Avon School Board. I currently serve as President of the Board and believe our role is to maintain our premier school district performance in superior academic achievement, magnificent facilities, and dedicated teaching and learning. I am proud to be a very small part of our school district’s success.

I am a life-long west Indianapolis resident and moved to Avon in 1999 with my husband, Michael, and our two daughters, Brooke and Rachael. We love Avon Schools and are very involved in school activities, especially with the Avon Marching Black & Gold and Avon World Guard. Rachael, our youngest daughter, will graduate from Avon this year. I currently consult in Human Resources and own an Avon-based business. Michael and I both graduated from Indiana University and look forward to Rachael’s entry into IU this fall!

My focus in another term, as it was for my first term, will be on what is best for Avon school children. After all, they are our most precious resource and deserve all that Avon schools have to offer. I ask for your support on May 6th.

This is Mrs. Woodward's bio for school board. She like Mr. Buckley seems to be missing what is painfully apparent in the ISTEP scores, grad rates, SAT averages, overcrowded classes and schools that our kids try to learn in every day in Avon.
If both candidates are all about our kids why do we have 25 percent ISTEP failure, overcrowded schools, poor learning environments, over 270 million in building debt, low graduation rates, and poor SAT averages with all those honor roll students we have in Avon? It seems they think they are doing a great job in Avon and want four more years to do more of the same.

Have ya had enough yet Avon? These are your incumbents who want you to give them four more years to do more of the same impressive job they both think they have done for you and your kids. This is the thinking that leads our school system. We need new leadership in Avon. I am voting for the two new candidates. Any change has to be better than what we have now. There has to be something better available. If there isn't, Avon is in more serious trouble down the road.

Again, you're having a problem with the facts.

I don't believe any candidate submits a bio to the election board. Why would the election board even care? Do you know what the election board does?

You just make outrageous claims and expect no one to question you. When you lie about one thing, it makes everyone question all of the other things you say.

Bios are submitted to Laura Herzogs office which puts them up on the Hendricks County website. She tabulates the votes when the voting is over. Election board, voter registration, and election commission work hand in hand with each other on election matters. Who they submit their bios to is a mute point. What their bios say is the issue. They have done a lousy job for Avon but to hear them tell it, they are the cream of the crop. If you want to go with the Voter Registration who registers and whose office tabulates final votes whatever floats your boat. What I wish you would be half as concerned about are the people who have Avon over 270+million in debt and our kids in overcrowded classes and schools. Don't sweat the small stuff. Get rid of the board and put on people who have far thinking ideas and know what good leadership is. Ours from scores, grad rates, and priorities are still trying to figure it out.

When someone points a flaw in your facts, it's "small stuff" and we shouldn't "sweat it."

When you point out something that you believe is wrong, it's big stuff and worthy of being sweated.

OK, got it. Thanks for setting us straight.

My point is simple if you can comprehend. Where bios are submitted are infinitesimally small compared to the serious problems our board has created in Avon. You are capable of comprehending that huge disparity I hope. You are correct that Mrs. Herzog is not the election board or commission but she does work hand in hand with them, but the REAL ISSUES here are the blunderings and bad leadership of our school board.

If you think our board has done a great job tell us about it. Would love to hear why they are the premier board of Indiana in spite of our issues and serious problems. Would love to hear as Mr. Buckley points out in his bio, how our board has successfully handled our growth, provided our kids with the best learning conditions and with a 270+ million debt have planned for Avon's future wisely. Bios as provided by our board says volumes about the Ostrich syndrome our board has about their leadership capabilities. They can't be as wonderful as they say they are and we have the serious problems we have. Can they? Buckley and Woodward's bios are an exercise in covering ones derriere for the benefit of reelection. I do hope Avon is smarter than to believe what they have published but then they were elected once and Avon has a history of returning people over and over who can't seem to get it right.

quote:

I currently serve as President of the Board and believe our role is to maintain our premier school district performance in superior academic achievement, magnificent facilities,

Kim Woodward's bio quote

We have successfully managed incredible growth and change, have planned for the future wisely and efficiently, Mr. Buckley's bio quote

Facts: 270 million in debt, almost doubling our debt in three years, overcrowded in most of our schools, poor SAT averages and ISTEP passing averages, low graduation rate, building planning playing catch up for 7 years, and wasting tax dollars on too many buses and an administration building while our kids go to schools in overcrowded classrooms and some in portables, failure to push for a 10 percent growth plan from the county and town to gauge our growth to existing school capacity.

These people really believe they are doing a wonderful job and our scores,grad rates, overcrowded facilities are examples of premier board performance and successfully managed growth rates and top notch learning facilities. This is why we badly need a new board. Their own words convict them and their illusions. How sad for Avon kids and taxpayers to put Woodward and Buckley back for more of the same. Surely Avon can see through this charade.

I believe they were honored by the Indiana School Board Association as being one of the premier school boards in the state.

Do you mean Premier Board or Master Board? I think you mean Master Board. According to the ISBA, there are only Master and Exemplary Board designations. If you wish to go on www.ISBA-Ind.org you can see the requirements for both designations. They are not hard to come by but do require continuing education by board members to gain full board designation.
My point is if we have an exemplary and or master board, why do we have such educational problems in Avon? We are supposed to be among the elite of Indiana but Indiana ranks 24 just barely in the top half of the nation educationally. I would like to see Avon quit comparing itself against state accomplishments and raise it's standards to compete against top national schools. Indiana is a poor guide to judge your success against educationally. You might look up the following sites to see where Indiana ranks and see who the top states are educationally along with visiting the school boards site.
Our board will get a lot more respect from me when grad rates, ISTEP and SAT scores improve, and when our board quits wasting tax dollars on administration buildings while too many of our kids go to crowded classes and schools to learn and too many still learn in metal boxes called portables. Master and exemplary board designations are not difficult to get. It requires meeting the things cited on the ISBA web site. It is good to have the designation. It does not solve the issues we have in Avon but it should have prepared our board much better in how to solve our academic and financial issues it has. It apparently didn't take when they went to class.
http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

www.ISBA-Ind.org Good luck on your search. You might also want to see how Avon ranks state wide against states schools in ISTEP and SAT averages.

And the voters have spoken again. Congratulations to Anne Engelhardt, Traci Kalish and Kim Woodward. I wish you nothing but the best and am confident that you'll do all you can for Avon's schools and students.