Former school board member Alice Taulman was voted into the open seat on the Edinburgh School Board.
Taulman ran against Angel Emerson-Burkman and Jason Lawson for one spot among the six seats on the board. She came out on top with 42 percent of the votes in Johnson County and Bartholomew County. All three candidates had close ties with Edinburgh schools and the community.
The job of the school board is to approve expenditures, conduct monthly meetings, set school calendars and approve policies and hire and fire school personnel.
Voters in Bartholomew and Johnson counties cast ballots in the race.
Lawson has spent most of his life in the town of Edinburgh. A priority of his on the school board will be to focus on increasing enrollment. Edinburgh High School has an enrollment size of 264 students, making it the smallest high school in Johnson County.
“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.”
Lawson also wants to focus on keeping teacher in the school district longer with tenure.
Taulman was employed Edinburgh schools for 40 years and has since retired. She worked as a teacher and guidance counselor.
As a previous school board member for 12 years, she said she will work to ensure 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.”
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Angel Emerson-Burkman;22%
Jason Lawson;36%
Alice Taulman;42%
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