The leadership team on the Anderson school board will remain largely unchanged in 2025 after board members voted to retain Pat Hill as president and Holly Renz as vice president.
Hill was elected president of the Anderson Community Schools Board of Trustees for the ninth time Monday by a 4-3 vote, with opposition from board members Robert “Buckie” Bookhart, Joanna Collette and newcomer Rodney Chamberlain. Bookhart nominated Chamberlain for the post, but after Chamberlain declined to accept, Bookhart put forth Collette for another nomination.
Despite the split vote, Hill expressed confidence that board members would work cohesively together on policy updates and other initiatives in the best interests of the district, its students and staff.
“It’s nice to engage in conversation, whether it’s on topics like homework or facilities or things that come out of that strategic plan as we look forward,” Hill said. “All in all, I think everybody’s really working for the same goal. We just have different ways of going about it.”
The board also welcomed its two newest members, Martha Green and Chamberlain, who were sworn into their offices along with Renz, who won reelection to her East District seat in November.
“I’ve been learning as I go,” Green said. “People have a lot of faith in me because they know me, and I just hope I live up to their expectations.”
Mandy Webb was reelected as the board’s secretary, while Chamberlain was named assistant secretary during the board’s annual organizational meeting.
Hill noted that the board will have several priorities to address in the early months of the year, including monitoring several bills under consideration in the Indiana Legislature and tracking the district’s progress in raising proficiency scores on the annual third grade ILEARN test.
“We’ve always got to be cognizant of what’s coming out of the Legislature, because that affects everything from curriculum to school lunches, the whole nine yards,” Hill said. “We’ve got some very interesting things coming in the near future … to help out and bolster students and their learning.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.