The Crusader Newspaper Group

Barbara Leek to seek First District School Board Seat

Former First District School Board member Barbara Leek announced that she is seeking to represent the First District on the Gary Community School Board of Trustees.

Leek says many citizens and employees of the school district have urged her to run for the seat and serve again. “After long thought and prayer, I decided to run in the election for a seat on the School Board representing the First District,” said Leek. “My primary concern is the education present and future of the district’s students and parents. I have been a parent, aunt, grandmother and now great-grandmother of Gary school students, I can’t sit on the sidelines with my concerns and questions about our school system,” Leek continued.

With close to thirty years in the Gary Public School System, as a middle school teacher and clinical social worker, Leek also is a part time instructor at Ivy Tech Community College. She continues to be active in the community’s dialogue about education as host of “Education Matters” on WLTH radio.

“Teaching and learning are my passion. I want all our students to receives the benefit of the “New 3rs”: respect, responsibility, and relationships,” said Leek.

Academics, finances, facilities, funding, parental involvement, employee concerns, student support services are significant issues.

Leek feels the current board has not communicated well enough about priorities, decisions, and the urgency of developing a financial plan for the district.

“The 2016 legislation requires that the school district collaborate with Jack Martin, the state funded financial advisor, and the city of Gary in order to begin to resolve very serious financial deficits. The current realities of low enrollment, half-used facilities, and underfunding demand open discussion and diligent, creative problem solving. The public has not received enough information about problems or possible solutions.” “I have decided that I can best use my knowledge and experience in serving again as the First District representative on the Board of Trustees of the Gary Community School Corporation,” said Leek.

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