Two candidates are running unopposed for two school board seats in Metropolitan School District of Washington Township on the November ballot.
The district, in the northern part of Marion County, enrolls around 11,325 students — 46% of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch due to the family income. Around 40% of students are Black and 22% are Hispanic.
The district is also asking voters to renew a property tax increase in the election as new state tax reforms combined with existing property tax caps stress the district’s budget. If approved, the referendum would generate a maximum annual revenue of $24 million, with most funds going toward retaining teachers and staff. If the referendum fails, the district could reduce staff and increase class sizes, according to its referendum presentation.
Candidates elected this year will be sworn in as board members in January and serve four-year terms ending in December 2030. School board members oversee district policies, goal setting and budgeting. They also hire and oversee the superintendent.
2 candidates running
Two newcomers are seeking seats on the five-member board — Leslie Bowles and Jocelyn Sisson. Neither declared a party affiliation. This is the first year school board candidates in Indiana could choose to proclaim a political affiliation for an election.
Incumbent board members Kristina Frey and William Turner did not file for reelection.
Both board seats on the ballot are at-large seats. That means all residents living in the district can vote for candidates, and the candidates represent the entire district, regardless of their own residence district.
Election Day is Nov. 3. Early voting opens Oct. 6 at the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St., with additional sites opening across the city Oct. 24.
Residents must be registered by Oct. 5; voters can confirm their registration and find their polling location at indianavoters.in.gov.
Meet the candidates
Candidates answered questions in a short candidate survey. Responses have been lightly edited for grammatical purposes.
Leslie Bowles
Bowles, 47, is running with no party affiliation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Marian University and a master’s degree from Indiana University in public affairs.She is managing director of development partnerships for the League of Conservation Voters, a national environmental and voter-engagement organization. Bowles is a North Central High School graduate and has three children enrolled in the district.
You can learn more about Bowles through her campaign’s Facebook page.
List your top three priorities if elected?
The top three priorities I will be focused on are shrinking the achievement gap in our district; ensuring our district is well-funded so that every student who enters our schools has equitable access to both rigorous academics and resources; and every family in this district feels seen, supported, and represented.
What do you see as the most pressing issue currently facing the district? What will be your approach to addressing it?
The most pressing issue facing Washington Township is the achievement gap, and it is one I have been focused on since I moved back to the district in 2021. I believe every student is capable and full of potential, and that no students’ access to the programs and resources they need to excel should ever be determined by race, the side of town they live on, or their family’s income.
As a school board member I will continue to explicitly name the achievement gap as a priority, require disaggregated data by race and income at board meetings, ensure the data is shared more widely with parents in a way that is visible and transparent to our school community, and hold district leadership accountable for measurable progress. I will also be focused on ensuring our district has the resources to continue the progress we have made to continue investing in the programs and interventions that work and centering the voices and experiences of the families most affected.
What area of academics do you think the district needs to focus on and why?
The district must continue to focus on the achievement gap, reading literacy, math proficiency and advanced placement courses for students. As a parent I know reading is our students’ foundation to excel in other courses they will take.
Equitable access to advanced placement courses is also important because it exposes our students to college-level thinking, writing, and problem-solving while they are in high school. Offering AP courses also ensures our district is competitive with other similarly sized school districts across central Indiana.
Affordability and finances are top of mind for districts and voters. What will be your approach to district finances? Do you support the district’s referendum? Why or why not?
As a parent in the district, homeowner affordability is at the top of my mind. If elected, I will work to ensure the district continues to be diligent in using our resources to support our diverse student body.
I support the operating referendum renewal for Washington Township schools because it is not funding buildings, but protecting what we already have. In 2022 I co-founded the Washington Township Parents in Support of Public Education PAC, dedicated to protecting our high-quality, diverse public schools. I have seen, up close, the growing efforts to privatize and defund public education — efforts that put our schools, our teachers, and our children’s futures at risk. This year we are working to educate parents and help pass the operating referendum renewal in our district because it will ensure the district is able to keep counselors, teachers, and support staff our students need. About 300 positions depend on the referendum and ensuring our schools are properly staffed will help maintain academic programs and support services our students deserve.
Washington Township has historically faced significant academic achievement gaps between student groups. In 2025, 20% of Hispanic students and 22% of Black students in grades three to eight passed the math and English Language Arts position of the state exam — compared to 54% of their White classmates. What specific performance metrics will you use to hold the administration accountable for closing the gap, and what board-level policy changes do you believe are necessary to achieve improvement in student outcomes?
As a Black parent I am focused on eliminating the achievement gap between white students and Black and Brown students in our district. As a school board member I will continue to explicitly name the achievement gap as a priority, require disaggregated data by race and income at board meetings, ensure the data is shared more widely with parents in a way that is visible and transparent to our school community, and hold district leadership accountable for measurable progress. I will also work to ensure funding for wraparound support including counseling, mental health services, and family engagement support. I will also review enrollment data in the district’s advanced placement and high ability classes, which is disproportionately accessed by white students even in a diverse district like ours. As a school board member I will advocate for the outreach, identification practices, and support structures needed to ensure that Black and Brown students are fully and equitably represented in every opportunity the district offers.
Jocelyn Sisson
Sisson is running with no party affiliation. She taught English for 35 years, including 25 years at North Central High School, before retiring. Sisson graduated from Brown University and has a graduate degree from Harvard University. She continues to tutor students at North Central’s Learning Center. Her two daughters graduated from the district in 2014 and 2017.
You can learn more about Sisson through her campaign website.
List your top three priorities if elected?
Increasing and/or creating support systems to maximize all students’ achievement. For Middle and High School students, this would include encouraging a wider participation in Honors and Advanced Placement classes of under-represented students. Ensuring high standards for student achievement, grading policies and teacher instruction. Aligning Washington Township’s curriculums from Kindergarten to Senior year to expand all students’ eligibility for the Enroll Honors Seal diploma.
What do you see as the most pressing issue currently facing the district? What will be your approach to addressing it?
My number one priority is this year’s referendum that will continue the existing property tax assessment. Unfortunately, the ballot statement is misleading. It implies an increase when in fact if passed, the referendum will not raise taxes. Given the funding changes passed by the state legislature, the passage of this referendum is especially important if Washington Township is to continue to hire and retain teachers, staff and administration.
I am working with the Washington Township referendum committee to share accurate information about the referendum with the Washington Township families who have students attending our schools as well as with those residents in our district who do not have students attending our schools.
Good schools benefit all. When schools maintain their funding, they continue to provide excellent education to their students. Good schools also maintain property values for all, including those who do not have children attending Washington Township schools.
What area of academics do you think the district needs to focus on and why?
As a former teacher of 35 years, I know from experience that student mastery of skills depends on teachers having high standards for their students while also holding students accountable. At the high school, the trend toward mid-term and semester exam eliminations and exemptions impairs students’ college readiness and skill mastery. For teachers, without the data that exams provide, class instruction cannot be improved, nor can assessments be revised. Exams provide important information for teachers in terms of how well students understand the class material taught, and for students, exam grades reveal how well they have mastered class materials.
The district needs to ensure academic alignment from kindergarten through grade 12. By doing so, it is more likely that all MSDWT students will earn the Enrollment Honors Seal — one seal on the new Indiana diploma.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increasingly become a shortcut for students. The result: a decreased ability to read texts accurately and write convincingly. Washington Township must develop and implement a district-wide policy regarding AI that preserves students’ skills.
Affordability and finances are top of mind for districts and voters. What will be your approach to district finances? Do you support the district’s referendum? Why or why not?
I absolutely support Washington Township’s referendum. Public schools are a bastion of democracy: we teach all children. The passage of the referendum ensures that our schools continue to educate and serve all who enter their doors. As indicated above, the language on the upcoming ballot is misleading. The referendum implies that there will be an increase in the property tax rate. This is misleading as the referendum merely continues the existing tax rate without any additional burden on taxpayers.
Washington Township has historically faced significant academic achievement gaps between student groups. In 2025, 20% of Hispanic students and 22% of Black students in grades three to eight passed the math and English Language Arts position of the state exam — compared to 54% of their White classmates. What specific performance metrics will you use to hold the administration accountable for closing the gap, and what board-level policy changes do you believe are necessary to achieve improvement in student outcomes?
This question highlights the need for a data-driven education policy for all students from Kindergarteners to 12th graders. I would carefully consider data from Washington Township and the results from national educational research. I am particularly interested in these influences: foundational reading and math skills, attendance patterns, the current number of non-white students enrolled in the middle schools’ and high school’s honors-level and Advanced Placement classes.
We should learn from any state or district that has a track record of success. As an example, I am interested in how we can replicate the steps that Mississippi took to improve 4th grader reading literacy from 49th in the nation to the top 10.
Our district is committed to all students earning the Enrollment Honors Seal — one seal on the new Indiana diploma. With the knowledge gained from the data I indicate above, Washington Township can develop programs that ensure that all students meet grade level markers and that all our students have access to and are prepared for success in the AP and honors-level classes required by the Enrollment Seal.
I was the director of the cohort program. As director, I asked middle school teachers to identify under-represented students who they believed could succeed in at least one honors-level class at the high school. These students were then placed in special homerooms that provided academic support and guidance. Due to the current political environment, this program was terminated. However, I would like to see a similar program renamed, revised, and reestablished.
Eric Weddle is WFYI’s education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.
