When I moved to Fishers after marrying Jane in May, 1991, I knew I was moving into a small suburban town of just over 7,500, but growing fast. One thing most people in the area knew was this – Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools served Fishers and it was a school district with an outstanding reputation.
As I settled into my new Fishers home, I often heard and read officials in Fishers praising the school district. Once I began writing this local Fishers news blog in 2012, I heard the message time and time again – Fishers and a quality public school system are synonymous.
Scott Fadness, as Town Manager & Mayor of Fishers, has often spoken of how the HSE Schools have, to a large extent, fueled the growth of Fishers. The city helps the school district in a number of ways, something you do not see often in Indiana.
Creating and maintaining a quality school district means a number of ingredients must work together and ensure quality. That includes the school board, administrators and teachers.
The way it is supposed to work is as follows: The board hires and evaluates the superintendent, the superintendent leads the school administration and the teachers can then be supported and do the most important job, instruct students in the classrooms.
I have always admired the way HSE Schools were able to keep academic standards high while taking-in tremendous growth in the student population, basically from the time I moved to Fishers in 1991 up to the present time. Current projections show student population is leveling off, mainly due to demographic changes.
I retell this information because something is going wrong with HSE Schools, and I refer to recent stories published by Indianapolis media.
The first was from WFYI statehouse education reporter Rachelle Fradette. She wrote a piece published June 14th on an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) filed by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the union representing HSE School District teachers. (Available at this link, no paywall).
Ms. Fradette’s story documents what is alleged in the ULP complaint. Abby Taylor, HSEA President, makes several assertions. Here is part of the WFYI story:
“Taylor alleges Murphy created a hostile work environment through ‘aggressive’ messaging and a warning he may claim ghost employment against Taylor, among other allegations. Taylor said she ‘felt unsafe and intimidated’ by Murphy during a May meeting with other staff, according to the complaint.”
Reporter Fradette also cites documents detailing a contentious issue between HSE HR Chief Brian Murphy and Taylor, over teacher staffing in grades K-6. According to the documents cited in the story, Murphy contacted the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), asking that Taylor be fired and threatened to involve Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, who represents the east side of Fishers.
The entire matter will go before a hearing examiner from the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board for review.
Caroline Beck of the Indianapolis Star also published a piece on this issue June 18th, and is available at this link, (You may need to be a Star subscriber to access this story)
When the teachers’ union feels there is a “hostile work environment” to the extent it files a ULP, it is a way of revealing your dirty laundry to the public and state education officials. I would hope every Fishers resident, and the wider geographic area served by HSE Schools, is taking notice.
Although the school board and administration have the legal authority over these decisions, I would ask that all public officials, privately or publicly, find a way to encourage settling these issues between HSE Schools and the teachers’ union.
I only write a small. local, mostly volunteer news blog here in Fishers. All I can do is call it the way I see it, as someone having lived in Fishers 33 years and in my 13th year of writing a local news blog and covering HSE Schools. We cannot let this public controversy continue.
Bottom line, let’s not kill the goose that laid the golden egg. HSE Schools and its teaching staff are our golden goose. I call on everyone that cares about this community to ask those involved in this dispute to dial down the vitriol and settle the differences.
I think we’re talking about people who sought election because of their dislike and lack of respect for the teachers and other professional staff. Unlike so much of our politics these days, the whole situation is based on polarization and division foremost, and substance secondary.
I don’t see “settle the differences” as a practical option. Either we continue to hemorrhage our best teachers and suffer ongoing scandals and indignity; or the community gets fed up with the situation enough to swing the election. Either way, a lot of damage has been done (e.g. years of block schedules), and in the best case it will take a decade to undo.
YES. From the ULP it appears that Brian Murphy was brought in to be a bully to our educators. This Board may have been able to remove the entire previous administration (except Dr. Kegley), but this community will absolutely RISE UP if this board and Administration comes after the people we TRUST to educate, care for, and protect our kids every day. Call the bully off, and tell him to stop name dropping… it’s NOT a good look. Our Educators Matter.
Funny that we are only called to dial down the vitriol once the victims have dared to speak up. Not when we elected an openly fascist school board. Not when that board forced out the good administrators and appointed their cronies. Not when that board and those cronies did everything they could to make our schools worse and punish our teachers. Nobody ever cares about bullying until the victim speaks up for themself, and then everyone rushes to punish and blame the victim. I, for one, hope the teachers’ union keeps up the good work.
All the negativity in the news started when the four newest board members took office in Jan 2023. They hired new law firm, tried to deny a mental health grant until the Mayor stepped in behind the scenes, got rid of a survey that was already paid for since they listened to people that don’t have kids in district who had to literally do nothing with survey and those with kids in district could opt out, micromanaged dress code changes and former superintendent, singled people out and didn’t renew their contracts-said would appear on later agenda never did and of course now those 5 targeted people are no longer employees of HSE, and all newest board members are members of fishers one. Fishers one recently posted a video endorsing Micah beckwith if that name is familiar-he was one of people on library board that wasted our tax money that also brought lots of negative national and International to our county as well.
We moved to Fishers in July of 1987 (37 years ago) and have had no concerns with HSE schools for many years. Our kids graduated and headed off to Purdue.
Not until the anti-discrimination policies between April and May 2019 did we see that some school board members did not want to protect all kids from discrimination. This caused a shakeup on the school board, and things quieted down once again once the policy was updated with another vote. Things changed with the last influx of school board members who wanted to get a majority vote and again make changes that don’t treat everyone with respect—pulling out things like microaggression from the student handbook and a significant change in leadership of the schools by board appointments. Things need to change for the better again if teachers feel that they can no longer provide the education that students need and be supported, but not with overreach by the board and their appointments. Vote wisely for school board members who have all students’ interests in mind and support teachers in teaching with equitable pay and benefits.
Help, Larry,
I am a retired educator who spent more than 30 years as a teacher, assistant principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent, and finally superintendent.
Like you, I have been watching with interest the goings on in HSE schools. I have grandchildren in HSE, and I know how important quality schools are to the development and success of young people.
I am also aware of the push and pull inherent in any school district between the administration and the teachers in schools. However, as administrators and school boards reflect upon this situation, I would offer one simple survey question for parents and grandparents and even school children to gather data on the question:
“What is the most important things schools can do for your children, grandchildren, of us as students?” The answer? “Give my child, grandchild, or me a great teacher.”
Parents, grandparents, and kids know this is true.
The most important things in school districts are never the machinations that go on at the policy level in the push and pull between teachers and administrators. Instead, I simply want my grandkids to have competent and well-trained teachers. I want those teachers to be well-paid, to be supported in every professional way, to feel good about walking into school every day, and to work in a humane, safe, and respectful profession atmosphere.
As a superintendent, one of the tests I used to give my principals and support staff was simple. “Is this situation in the best interest of children?” It is clear to me that HSE has some answering to do in this regard.
James Mervilde, Ed.D.
Fishers, Indiana
Thank you for your service within the education system. I agree 100% with the question you posed, “ Is this situation in the best interest of children?” That should be top of mind for parents,
Teachers, administration, etc. when making any decision regarding children and their education. If everyone in our community put our children’s educational needs first, this thread would not have to exist.
Clearly, the majority of voters felt that it was time for a change.
Clearly the majority of voters BELIEVED in the oft repeated campaign promise of TRANSPARENCY, which has all but disappeared with our current school board (with the exception of the Sarah’s).
I would take a look at the other side of the story. Who is the union representing? Who are they supporting and what are they in this for? They take a lot from members paychecks. And they make a ton in salaries. And I think the hse rep demanded that she DOESN’T TEACH IN THE CLASSROOM. Because that would take away from fundraising time. Google regional unserve director/union salaries. And compare it to the people they are stealing it from. The teachers.
As a parent I would vigorously question the ethics and self promotion of the union. I will always love hse. It’s time to stop letting self promotions loot our children’s futures.
The majority of teachers seem to think belonging to the union is beneficial. All attacking the union will do is force good teachers to leave. Whether you like it or not, going after the union will hurt HSE. There aren’t enough candidates to fill these positions and we’re not exactly making it a desirable place to work.
I would reframe the question as to what is best for our students and if you can prove the union is best for our students, I would love to see that evidence. Hamilton Southeastern schools has not been in a good place for a while. I would look to the common denominator.
The proper question is what’s best for our students. That always seems lacking and discussions about this school district. and if you can prove the union is best for our students, I would love to see that evidence. Hamilton Southeastern schools has not been in a good place for a while. I would look to the common denominator.
I don’t think the majority of teachers think that and I would love to hear the evidence you have for that. What I have found is that the union through one or two people have looted for their own benefit.
Show the proof
In my experience as a teacher, the union threatens people personally if they don’t belong and they don’t pay dues —that can’t be a good model for culture
That’s utterly ridiculous. Thank Pence for gutting the unions’ ability to fight for teachers’ rights and benefits. The only thing they can negotiate for is raw salary, so they are forced to other methods – such as this lawsuit – to protect members’ rights, jobs, and dignity.
It’s clear from the other comments, Sam, that you don’t understand how unions are supposed to work, what benefits they bring to members (e.g. primarily collective bargaining, though not so much in Indiana), and how public unions are forced to work indirectly on non-pay issues in Indiana. It’s a rabbit hole to be sure, but worth your time if you want to educate yourself on the issue.
You have no clue what you are talking about. HSEA (the local teachers’ union) doesn’t fundraise. Over 70% of HSE teachers belong to the Union. There are several benefits locally, statewide and nationally to members who want to take advantage of them.
Do you realize how much overtime all of these people who work in the union work without overtime pay? No one is getting rich working with the union. HSE Rep did not make any demands- the fact that they are trying to out her in the classroom PT is pure retaliation and classic union-busting.
The teachers at HSE are top-notch and always will be. We have a strong union who makes sure teacher voice is heard. Silence teachers and take away their support and the district will lose them.
The politicization of schools has lead us to this breaking point. When you allow Todd Huston to select your new superintendent with Fishers One and the Republican Party out to take HSE and turn it into a privatized for-profit school system…here we go. This lawsuit is just the tip of the iceberg. If the people in power have their way, a company that runs school systems will take over HSE and they will get paid for hiring them to mange the school corporation.
I have taught in the district for over 20 years and we have been on a slow downward spiral. The standards continue to drop, rules are not enforced, teachers are not supported, technology use is out of control. Administrators are afraid to tell parents NO! Not doing what is best for kids like starting elementary kids in the 7AM hour where they get out of school at 2:30 and then many spending hours in paid after care is not what is best for our young children. HSE always puts money first and they made a lot of money from the YMCA by getting huge amounts of our young children in after school care. The amount of recruiting of students, athletes, performing arts students, competition-based students you name it between our high schools and jr high schools is high. School choice needs to end. There are huge inequities in our high school programs and it is a shame students feel like they have to choose a different high school because the one where they live as an inferior program in comparison to the opposite. Hoping the new admin makes changes.
There are huge inequities between our schools and that should never happen in a large school corporation. Our junior highs are a disaster. They are all on different schedules, 7-period, 7-period block, 8-period block and offer different classes, have different amounts of periods and then there is the 4 grade disaster of HIIJH that should have never happened. There is no equity in our junior high schools and you wonder why kids are constantly trying to transfer to the school that they think offers the best opportunities. Shouldn’t all HSE Schools provide the same equitable offerings?
The larger problem, is the new administration is corrupt. They have turned teacher development specialists into evaluating administrators. Not to mention Mr. Mapes wife who was hired to do this job and make more than anyone else doing the same job. We have gone from a lean administration to as fat as we can get. I as a staff member and a Fishers resident will vote against every future referendum until we quit spending money on administrators and quit wasting money on renovating classrooms when we need to build more classrooms and get rid of portables. With the taxes Fishers residents pay, students at Thorpe Creek, Southeastern, HIJH, Fall Creek Elementary should not be permanently in the shacks of portables that are poor learning environments and not as safe as being a in a secured building. It is time this district takes seriously building enough classrooms to house all our students. The previous admin did not think this was an issue so we will see if the new admin does something about it.
As a teacher, I would love to leave the toxic work environment HSE has become. The public will see an exodus of teachers, especially our younger teachers who are not vested in HSE. They would only take a small pay cut to move to a new district. For our older veteran teachers, they would take a huge pay cut to go teach anywhere else. I would take a 25-40% pay cut to move to a surrounding district to teach based on my years of experience. This is because they way teacher contracts work and surrounding schools not being willing to pay teachers for their years of experience. I came into teaching because I wanted to create a positive classroom environment where I could innovate and provide our future adults an opportunity to learn at the highest level and go on to be productive citizens in our country. Instead of teaching being my passion and career, it is now my contracted job where I show up each day, try to fly under the radar to not be bullied by this new administration and fulfill my contractual requirements and survive another year of doing my job. It makes me sad what working in HSE as a teacher has become.
HSE used to have a strong partnership between its administration and its teachers and their association. This no longer exists. It is us against them and as much as we do not want kids to be in the middle. Students are intelligent and they will begin to notice that the classroom and dedication they got will not be the same as the noble profession of teaching and developing our youth turns into a contracted job with adults trying to make a living and fulfill what their contract requires in fear of sharing the truth and losing their jobs. SAD! The relationship is broken.
Until we have balance on the school board, politics not driving decision making, and people elected that just care about fixing the mess that has been created, this will not be a student first centered district.
Do your homework on who you vote for in the school board this fall. This district may never recover unless balance is brought back to the board.
We would not be here had the previous school board hired the now Carmel Clay Superintendent and former HSE leader Michael Beresford instead of Dr. Stokes. We needed someone who gets HSE culture. The past 5 leaders including are new leader have no clue. Dr. Kegley should have been hired this time…but is shows that Representative Todd Huston is really running this district. We need a new board to bring balance back this school district.
Appreciate your evaluation, but curious about the connection of Todd Huston to the new superintendent. What evidence is there that shows Todd involved?
Yes! Agree! We moved to Fishers 11 years ago because we wanted our children to go to HSE schools. What the heck is going on with administration and the board?? The teachers are amazing! They’re going to end up losing their teachers if they don’t simmer down.
That’s the goal. They want to force out enough teachers to foment a crisis, then privatize the schools (one reason Mapes was their choice: his work with for-profit schools). Then they can solve the manufactured “teacher crisis” by bringing in provisionally-licensed or unlicensed staff at much lower rates, while siphoning off public funds to the profit of private interests. That’s how they make bank with their buddies. There are a lot of people involved here with shared business interests, common political connections and contributors, etc. The corruption and influence peddling run deep. The extra culture war bits are for fun and distraction.
The pain they are causing is not accidental…it’s the plan. And it’s not like they are being subtle, planning twenty chess moves ahead. To these people, “public schools” means using “schools” to divert “public” funding to their own pockets. Tell me one other reason they would take one of the best school corporations in the state and burn it to the ground.
Such a shame that this School Board is behaving like the HEPL and getting similar results: controversy and public embarrassment. Sadly, most people who voted for this board bought the lie that there were litter boxes in the classroom. Notice how that conversation died as soon as they got their way?
What’s the next big lie that the fascists will tell to get people to vote their way?
And what’s the next low they’ll go to so that they’ll continue to build power in our sweet community?
I’m here for the teachers and students. What’s the School Board & Admin’s agenda?
It’s clear the HSE School Board and Administration are not interested in serving the public.
We (HSE Transparency) are a new group focused on transparency and good governance in Hamilton county. We requested public documents from HSE Schools – specifically, their replies to other public information requests made to them. By definition, these are documents HSE has already previously released to the public. Still, nearly 3 months later, HSE Schools says our request is under Legal review.
Why is HSE Schools not quickly releasing public documents?
Why do previously released public documents require additional Legal review?
Are such unnecessary Legal reviews part of the large increase in Legal spending by the district?
Is this the behavior of a school board that campaigned on “transparency”?
We will continue to seek answers from HSE Schools.
Thank you for doing this!
I fear this is like pushing on a door labeled “pull”. They’ll spend public funds to give you the runaround for a decade. So we’re basically fighting ourselves? These people have no skin in the game, no reason to actually comply … and perhaps strong reasons not to. Look at that document requests from WTHR related to the Coach Wimmer suspension. I would expect the same shenanigans here.