Finding ways to increase enrollment and keep its teachers are among the goals set by the three candidates vying for a spot on the Edinburgh school board.
Alice Taulman, Angel Emerson-Burkman and Jason Lawson have strong ties with the school and town.
Taulman was employed by the Edinburgh school district for four decades and has since retired. She worked as a teacher before becoming a guidance counselor and spending the majority of her career in that capacity.
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Emerson-Burkman is an Edinburgh High School graduate; Lawson, a father of five, has also spent most of his life in the town. They are in agreement that better promoting Edinburgh’s positive qualities are a way to increase enrollment and keep teachers and counselors from eventually seeking employment at bigger schools.
Edinburgh High School’s current enrollment of 264 students makes it the smallest public high school in Johnson County by a wide margin.
“Most important is communication with the school and the community,” said Emerson-Burkman. “Increasing our enrollment numbers, which positively impacts our funding. Once we market the great things we do at our schools, I think that will help because we don’t market ourselves a lot.”
Lawson, who attended Edinburgh schools through the eighth grade before transferring to Plainfield for high school, returned to his hometown and raises his family there.
“For Edinburgh, with its size, it’s the student count and teacher turnover,” Lawson said. “I think part of it is finding a way to promote what the school does well. One of the advantages Edinburgh has is the next-closest school its size in the county (Indian Creek) is twice its size.
“One of the things I heard from my daughter, she went from Plainfield to Edinburgh, is that she didn’t feel like a number at Edinburgh. To have those personal relationships with not just your teachers, but the principal and other staff members.”
He is passionate about Edinburgh being able to keep its teachers for longer tenures rather than having them leave for larger schools and a better prospect of increased pay.
“That’s a challenge any small, rural school is going to have a challenge with,” Lawson said. “We don’t have the money the other schools have. It’s going to be something that’s going to have to be outside-the-box thinking and turning over every stone we can find to be able to keep those teachers.”
Taulman was previously a member of the school board for 12 years and remains a teacher at heart. She wants Edinburgh students to be better prepared for college or the workforce.
“It’s test scores,” Taulman said. “We’re always at the bottom in Johnson County. I just feel that we need to work toward getting the kids ready for college and for their success. That’s important.”
The three school board candidates also count student safety and bullying among concerns.
“The state is giving away metal detectors,” Taulman said. “And you would need someone to man the (school) entrances. That would be a cost. The budget would have to be used for that unless you had volunteers to do that.”
Emerson-Burkman knows bullying doesn’t happen as frequently in a small school, but that it does occasionally happen.
“Of course, just one incident is a huge problem,” she said. “I definitely think guardians should be involved and follow-up is needed. The issues have to be addressed.”
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Alice Taulman
Residence: Edinburgh
Family: Husband, Larry; adult son, Scott
Occupation: Retired from Edinburgh school district
Education: Prospect Heights (N.Y.) High School (1959), Franklin College (1963), Indiana University (master’s)
Political experience: Previously a member of Edinburgh school board for 12 years
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Angel Emerson-Burkman
Residence: Franklin
Family: Husband, Bryan; daughters, Breanna, 21, and Mary, 19; sons, Bradly, 18, and Milas, 11
Occupation: Registered nurse at Columbus Regional Hospital
Education: Edinburgh High School (1990), Ivy Tech (2008)
Political experience: None
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How important are athletic programs to a school district? How should these be balanced with academics and other extracurricular activities?
“I think especially for Edinburgh, athletics is very important. It gives the children something to do, keeps them busy and gives them a reason to work hard on their grades. I think they go hand in hand. They have to make grades to stay on a certain team, which is very important. And it builds leaders. I’m definitely for athletics.”
Are school resource officers needed at Edinburgh?
“Yes. I think we need at least one. Our school is small, but the presence of a resource officer would definitely be beneficial. As far as the pay, I think there a couple different options. Maybe sharing the cost with the town.”
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Do improvements need to be made with the athletic facilities?
“No. We just built a new athletic facility next to the superintendent’s office. And the gym is really nice. I think we have enough space for the kids.”
What’s an important quality in a superintendent?
“Caring for the students and knowing the budget. I would have an evaluation for them and I would they need to be involved in the community. They need to come to games and things like that.”
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Jason Lawson
Residence: Edinburgh
Family: Wife, Christi; sons, Tyler, 27, and Corbin, 15; daughters, Hannah, 23, Sydney, 16, and Gracie, 10
Occupation: Maintenance supervisor at Brazeway in Shelbyville
Education: Plainfield High School (1992), Ivy Tech (2002)
Political experience: None
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Is there something at Edinburgh that needs to be done to better ensure the safety of students? If so, how would it be paid for?
“I think there’s always room for improvement safety-wise. I think Edinburgh is a safe school, yes. One of the things that makes it safe is its size. And its location. That’s where we have to look at what grants are out there, what support can we get and be open to going out as a school board member and education myself as to what those things are.”
Is bullying an issue at Edinburgh, or is that a school made safer by the fact it does have fewer students? If so, how should it be addressed?
“I think that all schools deal with bullying in some manner. The way one person defines it and the way another person defines it are different. As long as the administrators are staying consistent with their policies and enforcing those policies, I think that’s the proper way to handle it.”
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Term: Four years
Duties: Approve expenditures, conduct monthly meetings, set school calendar, hire and fire school personnel
Pay: $2,000 annually
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