By TARA HETTINGER
Public records revealing contributions to school board members’ campaigns show unions, contractors, political action groups and others pitched in to get the people they supported a seat on the Greater Clark County Schools board.
But what does that seat mean? It means one vote out of seven that sets policy for a multimillion dollar school corporation. It also means some perks, such as quarterly compensation of $500; $112 for each regular school board meeting; $62 for each special board meeting; and paying only $1 a year for health insurance for their family, according to Donna Mullins, director of human resources for Greater Clark.
With three seats up for election in May and candidates able to file starting Jan. 20, The Evening News requested public records as well as allow each of those seated members a chance to explain their thoughts on what is ethical, what is right and why they accepted the funds that they did.
ERNIE GILBERT: BOARD PRESIDENT
Sitting board president Ernie Gilbert is in the middle of his second four-year term, which is set to expire in June 2012.
He raised a total of $7,723.52 for his last election campaign, which included $2,900 of his own cash.
Gilbert had three people donate $900 each, including Roger Caudill, Chad Gilbert and Larry Gilbert. The rest of his listed contributions came from various unions. Some of the largest came from Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 502, for $900; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, for $900; and Carpenter’s Local Union 631 for $600.
Other contributors included Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 7050, Laborers International Union of North America Local 795 and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Gilbert said he doesn’t believe it is wrong for him to accept money from unions.
“I’m a very strong supporter of unions to begin with. Always have been and always will be,” he said.
He said those donations don’t influence how he votes.
He said he listed all the donations he received, saying that the campaign finance form is meant to educate people on who has donated to whom.
“It’s open record and anybody can get that stuff,” Gilbert said.
CHRISTINA GILKEY: BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
As one of the newest board members, Christina Gilkey was elected in May 2008 for a four-year term. She was later selected by the board to serve as vice president.
During her campaign, she raised $4,524.13. On her finance forms, she only has one donor listed — Forest and Geneva Noe, for $500. Gilkey said those are her grandparents. She said the majority of her funds came from her own wallet.
“I handled everything myself. I didn’t have a secretary. About 20 people or so gave 50 bucks or less. For just a matter of saving time, I did what was required,” Gilkey explained as to why those people weren’t listed on the public records.
However, she said those were just friends and family members who wanted to see her in office. She said she did not take money from any contractors or vendors.
“As a matter of transparency and just for the sake of not doing anything that even has the possibly of having a conflict of interest, I think that anybody that is running for any office shouldn’t take money from a contractor or anybody that they will do business with,” she said. “Even if you’re the most honest person in the world, it still has the look of impropriety. With as much scandal and mistrust that there is out there, I just think it’s best for somebody who is in that position as a public servant to try to stay away from situations that even look remotely unethical.
“It wouldn’t be illegal to take money from a contractor or a vendor, but it certainly looks unethical.”
She added that she’s talking thousands of dollars.
“I don’t know anyone who could be bribed for $100,” she said.
Gilkey said a lot can be achieved on the board if everyone is open.
“If everyone was determined to be an ethical public servant, a lot of the mistrust and a lot of the issues — we wouldn’t have those issues,” she said. “We could all work together a lot better, because we would all know we have a common goal.”
ROBBIE VALENTINE: BOARD SECRETARY
Robbie Valentine, board secretary, was elected to his second term in May 2008, narrowly beating out challenger Jerry White by 95 votes.
Between the end of that January to April, Valentine raised $2,362.64 for his campaign. No updated financial records were found at the county Voter Registration office that showed what was raised through May.
Valentine’s largest donor was Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 502 at $900. Laborers International Union of North America gave $300, Operating Engineers Segregated gave $250 and the Political Action Fund and A Wireless Sales and Service each gave $100.
Personal donors giving $100 or more also were listed. Those names are: Sharon Chandler, John Carter, Janet and Thomas Lindley III, Edward Cooper, R.S. and Julie Straight, Brenda and William Shrewsberry Jr., David and Stacy Floyd, Gary David and Mark Smedal.
Valentine did not return messages seeking comment.
BOB MCEWEN: BOARD MEMBER
Bob McEwen, board member, is serving his second term on the board. He was re-elected in 2006 and is up for election again this year.
The Voter Registration office didn’t have any records on McEwen for that year, including the required form that he had to have filled out to run for the office.
McEwen said he did file the form indicating his intent to run. He said he did not have any competition that year, so he just put up his old signs and didn’t need to raise additional funds.
Forms from his 2002 campaign were found, showing he raised $2,910. McEwen donated $580 to his own campaign. His parents, Bob and Peggy McEwen, gave $1,500. The final two listings on the documents show that McEwen had two fundraiser events — raising $400 at one and $430 at the other.
McEwen said those fundraisers involved getting friends and family together at a home, with people giving small dollar amounts.
McEwen said it is everyone’s right to pull the finance reports.
“I think people should educate themselves and look at campaign reports. That’s why you fill those out,” he said.
He said that filling out those forms tells a lot about a person.
“I think when people put that down and they fill out those reports accurately, I think that shows a person of integrity. I think the people I’d be concerned with are those who don’t fill out things accurately,” McEwen said. “I think by putting that down, you’re trying to make sure you’re being open.”
MISSY DEARK: BOARD MEMBER
Missy DeArk, board member, is in her last year of her first term, which is up for election this May.
DeArk’s information was also not located at the Voter Registration office.
However, she faxed The Evening News her copy of the finance report, which showed that she donated $2,030.60 to her campaign. No other donations were listed.
“I paid for everything myself,” DeArk explained, saying that she filed the report to document her expenses.
She said at the time, she worked at an advertising agency, so that helped with her campaign. Friends helped her with her logo and she only had to spend money on the signs, DeArk said.
When asked via e-mail her thoughts on board members accepting donations from vendors or contractors who may benefit from a certain vote, she cited the board’s code of ethics, which states that board members will refuse to use their position for personal gain, avoid being placed in a position that would be a conflict of interest and other guidelines.
BECKA CHRISTENSEN: BOARD MEMBER
Becka Christensen, board member, was elected to her first term in May 2008.
She raised a total of $1,520 for that campaign, according to her finance report, which details each donation, many as low as $25.
Christensen, who owns her own florist business, said she didn’t want to make mistakes, so she listed everything.
“I didn’t know what I was doing and I didn’t want to go to jail. There are laws, and I was going to do everything to the letter,” she said. “From the business perspective, any time I deal with a government form, I’m going to give them more information than they need. That’s [what I’ve learned] from owning a business.”
Christensen said her daughter hosted a party, where many of the listed donations came in. Some of the names are: Jamie Chevalier, Derek Spence, George Strickland, Diane Hackle and Kay Orem, who Christensen said is a long-time friend.
Christensen said she didn’t feel being meticulous was time consuming, adding that she likes to have everything on paper. However, she said she doesn’t hold others to the same standard.
“To each their own,” she said. “You’ve got to go back to that I was a novice and I wanted to make sure I did everything right. It doesn’t make what they did wrong.”
However, she said if someone does accept money from a vendor or contractor, they should not vote on issues relating to that person or company.
She referenced a vote taken earlier this year dealing with an architect — Voelker, Blackburn, Niehoff — for the Charlestown High School auto-tech building, which was defeated the first time. At that meeting, DeArk said she was disappointed that people let donations to their campaigns influence their votes.
After the meeting, she pointed to a $100 donation from Thresa Estopinal to board member Brian Jones. She said that Estopinal and the architectural firm with the same name are tied together.
At a later meeting, that same motion was voted on and passed 4-1, with Gilbert voting against it. Jones and McEwen were absent from the meeting.
Christensen said she is still upset that Jones voted on that motion to start with.
“That was wrong,” she said. “A hundred dollars and your mother works there. One, you shouldn’t even have taken a vote.”
When asked if she thought that was unethical, she answered, “I thought it was, but who am I?”
BRIAN JONES: BOARD MEMBER
Brian Jones started his first term in 2006. He is up for re-election in May.
He raised $5,647.40 for the last campaign, with $615 of that his own money.
Large donors include Ronald Jones at $820; Donald Jones at $800; and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 369 donated $500. Other donations include $250 from Carpenters Local Union 631; $250 from the Clark County Democratic Central Committee; $150 from Franklin Welding Service; and other donations from various people, including the $100 from Thresa Estopinal.
Lotus Design Group donated $985.80 worth of printing for Jones’ campaign. Quantum Graphix donated $1,406.22 worth of printing, as well.
Jones did not return multiple messages seeking a comment for this story.
THE RULES
• Any campaign donation totaling more than $100 in one calendar year from one individual has to be itemized, according to the Indiana Election Commission form. If it’s a regular party committee, donations more than $200 have to be itemized.
